The Alameda County Board of Supervisors has struck down a ban on equipment used in rodeo events, such as spurs, bucking straps and ropes.
However, the board let stand a ban on the rodeo event known as “wild cow milking,” where a team tries to get milk from a cow turned loose in an arena.
According to DTN, the supervisors who wrote the proposed ordinance said they had no intention of banning rodeos. Supervisor David Haubert, whose district covers most of the county’s agricultural area, noted at the meeting that state and federal laws were already in place prohibiting animal cruelty. He added that straps, ropes and dulled spurs were widely accepted across the country, which agricultural supporters stressed at the meeting.
The supporters informed supervisors about the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s animal welfare standards and on-farm livestock production practices.
