Letter to the Editor, Thursday February 11, 2016

Who's having fun?

You're sitting happily in your Lay-Z-Boy watching your favourite show on telly. You hear a loud yelp! and out of the corner of your eye you catch your child pulling the dog's tail and/or grabbing a handful of the cat's fur. Your first reaction is to say, "No darling, don't do that, it hurts them." The child persists, and you become more forceful in your manner, making sure your child knows in no uncertain terms that it is not acceptable to hurt animals intentionally for fun.

The very next day you take your children out to a good old-fashioned rodeo show, and I do mean old-fashioned. By the end of the day you now have a very confused child.

If I were them my first question would be, "Dad, Mum, could you please state clearly which animals I am allowed to abuse for fun?"

How are children to learn that animals are not here for our entertainment? How is it that in the 21st Century we have not outgrown such barbaric practices to fill our inane lifestyles?

To me it shows an insecurity in oneself, when one feels the need to pit themselves against innocent animals. In my eyes it is just as low as pitting oneself against a child who also has no way of defending him/herself. There is no difference. Both children and animals have no choice but to do as they are told, to a degree.

We have and still are gaining each day protection for children from those who believe they have the right to go beyond the bounds of acceptable punishment. But here at a rodeo show, the animals are not being punished for doing a wrong, they are being punished because they are unable to stand and speak up against those who feel the need to use them for their entertainment, pure and simple. They cannot say to you that they don't want you to chase and forcefully tackle them down to the ground with brute force, while you then proceed to tie up their legs, or to ride on their backs til their heads are hanging on the ground with exhaustion.

Use all the argument in the world, no matter how one wants to defend this sport, it stinks of man yet again using his position to do as he pleases, all in the name of fun.

My suggestion to those who feel the need to mistreat animals for their entertainment, though how one can be entertained watching this type of so-called sport is beyond my comprehension, is please enlighten me. But there you go. It does indeed take all types to make a world.

My suggestion is, get a life people, and leave the animals to live theirs in peace. For is it not enough that they are butchered to feed you and your families? Do you really need to hound and harass them throughout their meagre existence for your fun and entertainment as well?

What is that all about? Live and let live. S GARDNERKaitaia