WORCESTER — On the evening of Saturday, February 21, as the City Council worked to limit animal shows in the city, hundreds of people gathered in downtown Worcester to watch the Bulls, Bands, & Barrels perform during their tour — a spectacle that was part concert, part rodeo.
The three-part event kicks off at 6:30pm on Saturday, February 21, with bull riding and barrel racing, followed by a concert by country stars Jon Pardi and Ashley Cooke.
Queuing in droves to enter the Dublin City University Center next to a statue of the city’s most famous resident, Bob Cousy, attendees were delighted to see a different type of movement taking place in the area.
Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Worcester on the evening of Saturday, February 21, to watch the Bulls, Bands, & Barrels Tour—a spectacle that was part concert, part rodeo.
“We had to come because this is New England’s western event,” said Audra Mulligan, who grew up riding horses in the Midwest but later moved to Stafford, Conn. “We’re all concerned about it.”
“It’s a fun different thing, especially here,” said Bethany Trybus, who came from the Springfield area with two friends, all three wearing a mix of fringe and denim. “You can’t keep doing this.”
“Only bullies ride bulls”
But not everyone is happy to see the city take on a wild, wild Worcester alter ego. A dozen people armed with signs and pamphlets lined up alongside event attendees to protest what they said was animal cruelty. Before entering the dirt-filled arena at Dublin City University Center, attendees were greeted by signs reading “Fight the Rodeo” and “Only Bullies Ride Bulls.”
The group, made up of activists from the Facebook group Animals for Positive Change, said the bulls were tortured with electric prods and flank straps, forcing them to put up a fight.
Activists associated with the Facebook group Animals Positive Change Social Volunteer Group stood outside Dublin City University Center on Saturday 21 February during the Bull, Strap and Bucket show, where they said the bull was forced to move in reverse with the use of electric prods and flank straps.
They support an order proposed to the City Council in November by Vice Chairman Khrystian E. King to “prohibit the use of torture, instruments of torture and any painful, injurious technique or device to induce animal performance at rodeos or rodeo-related events within the city.”
Karen Bacon, director of the volunteer group, refuted claims on the Bulls, Bands, & Barrels website that bulls are bred for stags.
“At Bulls, Bands, & Barrels, all animal athletes are treated with the same respect as the human athletes who ride them,” the organization said of its animal policy.
Bacon disagreed.
“Bulls hold back because they feel uncomfortable,” Bacon said. “They’re not just randomly resisting. This is teasing turned into entertainment. It’s not fair.”
The Telegraph & Gazette was not allowed to attend the event and is not sure whether side straps or stun prods were used on the bull.
Protesters bundled up in coats and gloves said they didn’t mind being outnumbered by the denim-clad crowd.
“Are we going to change everyone’s mind? No,” said Denise Tetraut, a volunteer with the group. “But maybe we can change some people’s minds.”
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Rodeo: Crowds attend, activists protest animal cruelty
