Of Donkeys, Roping, Blogging and Activism

I have gotten several emails about another Donkey Roping event in Texas coming up on May 25.  I have mixed feelings about posting this.  One of the things I have learned well in the past year is about the immense power of social media, for good and bad.  The last time I posted about donkey roping, it  touched off a firestorm that still amazes me and frightens me a bit.  The end result was that we managed to cancel two donkey roping events, which is fantastic, but the whole thing also left me feeling a bit singed and wary.  I believe that radical fanaticism in ALL its forms is a dangerous and ugly thing and I have found that is difficult to be involved in any sort stand against injustice without encountering such radicalism.  On the other hand, if we don't speak out against cruelty, if we hide from it, is that not a way of condoning it? 

I believe that animals can and should work for us and with us.  My horses enjoy trail riding as much as I do.  My donkeys absolutely love going for walks in the woods with me and they would be perfectly happy to carry a reasonable load while doing so.  I know that roping is a very valuable skill, and there has been more than one occasion when I wished had such skill.  I even know that donkeys can be used in roping practice without harming or frightening them, I have seen it.  I could go out right now and toss a rope around Ramsey and he would think it is a fun new game.  He would bite the rope, tug on it, play with it and ask for more.  However, if I were to climb up on Gabe and chase Ramsey at high speed, only to throw a rope around his neck or his back legs and jerk him off his feet...well, if Ramsey survived, he would never be the same again.  He would not be the sweet, lovable, trusting friend/child/pet/companion that he is.  He would be what so many people have made of so many other animals, nothing more than a means to an end. A way to win a prize rather then being the prize he is.

My blog has become many things to me that I never envisioned.  It is a creative outlet for my long neglected interest in writing, a way to share my budding fascination with photography along with the joy and tribulations of donkey ownership.  It is, more and more, becoming a way to connect with people I would otherwise never know about.  It is a way to organize my thoughts and share some of what I have and am learning.  It is never going to be just one thing; just donkeys, just horses, just pictures,  just hoof trimming, just activism.  It is not just one thing because I am not just one thing.  I have many interests and I care deeply about many things, just one of which is how we care for, treat and think about our animals.  So I am posting this and will probably post other such things when I feel the need to.  That is after all, the beauty of blogging, it is and can be whatever the blogger chooses.

Today is World Donkey Day.  A day to think about and celebrate donkeys, which are wonderfully intelligent, loving, quirky, beautiful creatures who are more than a means to an end.  They are amazing animals who do not deserve to be brutally roped, dragged and thrown about as though they were no more than animated garbage.  So lets use our powerful, collective voice to once again stop this brutality.  Lets do it politely, resolutely, with kindness and without harsh words or hatred, because the means are the ends. 

The following information comes from donkeysdeservedignity
They will be posting further contacts and updates as needed. 

Organizers:

Casey Round 918-520-5208
email: caseyaround@yahoo.com and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/casey.round.3)

Dan Conway 806 339 5328 (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hornytoadsaddlery)  

Brad Ingram 918 244 3732 (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brad.ingram.946)

Guthrie Murray 918 533 6926

 Town contact info:
PO Box 277
Welch, OK 74369
918-788-3616
Mayor is Winston McKeon

Craig County Sheriff: Jimmy Sooter 
E-mail: sheriff@junct.com
210 West Delaware Suite 101
Vinita, Oklahoma 74301(918)256-6466

I have been unable to find actual Chamber of Commerce info for Welch, but have the following info for the county seat of Vinita, OK. You can contact them and tell them that you will not be spending any money or visiting their communities due to the cruelty to animals going on in their county.

Vinita Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 882
Vinita, Oklahoma 74301
Phone:918-256-7133
Fax:918-256-8261
E-Mail:chamber@vinita.com
The following contacts are in state government and both serve on the Tourism Committees. Please write to them to make them aware of the event as well as the cruelty to animals #1685 law that is at the bottom of this blog post. Both of these men represent District 1 that includes Welch. (Thanks to the National Miniature Donkey Association for providing us with these two contacts).

Senator Charles Wyrick
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 535-A
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Home: 58500 E. 155 Rd.
Fairland, Oklahoma 74343

Representative Curtis McDaniel
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 539-B
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Home: P.O. Box 366
Smithville, Oklahoma 74957

One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Donkeykind

Just over a week ago, I wrote a post about donkey roping.  It was read by other bloggers with larger readerships who also took the time to share it and speak out against a real injustice.  It spread to friends and friends of friends, got posted on Facebook and written about by more bloggers.  People all over the world wrote letters and made phone calls, inundating the little town of Van Horn with the message that donkey roping is just not acceptable.  This afternoon, I got word that the Culbertson County Sheriff's office had canceled the donkey roping event because of the public outcry.   

We did it. All of us. 

There is one very important thing to keep in mind however, and that is:  Jason Owens (432-940-9051) still owns these 40 donkeys.  There are still other rodeos and other promoters out there.  PVDR is still ready and willing to take them if he will relinquish them so keep calling. 

The really good news here, is that we have set a precedent.  A precedent that I devoutly hope will be noticed by other towns and other promoters who may be thinking about scheduling a donkey roping event.

We have won a huge victory today.  But, the donkeys still need us.  Jason Owens was right about one thing, these donkeys may well have starved to death if he didn't buy them.  The donkeys need us to come up with ways to educate the general populace about the wonder of donkeys.  They need us to come up with ways of promoting them in a healthy and meaningful way.  They need us to show the world that they are valuable, that they are not cheap, disposable targets for abuse.

You, readers, have proven today that you are a resourceful, determined, intelligent group who has real power.  We have generated a huge amount of momentum and attention, let's keep it going and lets use it! 

Send in your suggestions and ideas.  What do donkeys bring into YOUR life?  How can we demonstrate this to a largely disinterested populace?  How do we show the world that donkeys have value?  Put you thinking caps on folks and let's use what we have created here to give donkeys a giant step forward. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you have done.

And please, take a moment to thank the people of Van Horn who decided to do the right thing:

Mayor: Okey D. Lucas -  okeyd1@windstream.net

Mayor Pro Tem: Gilda Morales -  txmxdc45@aol.com

Alderperson: Mingo Corralez -  domingocorralez@vanhorncityhall.com

Alderperson: Nuny Morriss -  nunymorriss@vanhorncityhall.com

Alderperson: Pam Young -  pamyoung@vanhorncityhall.com

City Administrator: Fran Malafronte -  franmalafronte@vanhorntexas.org

We Aren't Done Yet

The Van Horn, Texas rodeo is coming up this weekend on the 23rd.  I think we still have a good chance of stopping the donkey roping part of this event, but we need to keep up the pressure.  Morning Bray farm passed this info to me and  I thought it worth sharing (please remember to be polite, we lose all credibility if we use abuse to try stopping abuse).... 

The Van Horn City Council meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm. TOMORROW (June 19) is the 3rd Tuesday of June.

Here is a listing of the Van Horn City Officials and email:
...
Mayor: Okey D. Lucas -  okeyd1@windstream.net

Mayor Pro Tem: Gilda Morales -  txmxdc45@aol.com

Alderperson: Mingo Corralez -  domingocorralez@vanhorncityhall.com

Alderperson: Nuny Morriss -  nunymorriss@vanhorncityhall.com

Alderperson: Pam Young -  pamyoung@vanhorncityhall.com

City Administrator: Fran Malafronte -  franmalafronte@vanhorntexas.org

Please email them and ask them (civilly) to please cancel the donkey roping competition in this Saturday's Van Horn Rodeo.

Remind them that that Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue; America’s largest donkey rescue, is ready, willing and able to take in all the Van Horn roping donkeys.gml.com

On behalf of the donkeys, thank you

Me again....

For more info on Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue copy this link:

 http://donkeyrescue.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.eventDetails&eventID=534

Peaceful Valley took in over one thousand abandoned donkeys last year and are likely to match that again this year.  They could use any help you can give them. 

Next, is an iReport submitted to CNN.  If it gets enough support CNN will run it.  I don't think I need to tell you how much pressure a report on CNN could bring (I don't even own a television, but even I know who CNN is:)  Please follow this link and at the bottom of the page, click on the green button.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-804321

And last, but most definitely not least, Emma and Tessa would like to offer an example of proper inter-species relations involving donkeys....

A couple questions

I have been getting lots of email about the donkey roping situation.  I really think we are making progress.  The feedback I have been getting definitely indicates that they are on the defensive.  I have gotten a couple of questions that I don't have good answers for so I thought I would post them here and see what we get:

Q: I saw a poster for the event that listed sponsors whose names I copied down. But now I am unable to find the poster again! Any chance you have seen it and have a link to it? I've written to quite a few.

My answer:  I think I saw this poster in a group of donkey roping photos that were circulating.  I tried to go back and check this and copy the link to post and guess what....they are now password protected and unavailable (that seems like a sign of progress to me).  Does anybody have this information?

Q: I am trying to find out what happened to the beautiful little sweetheart in the photo that was with the story about this gruesome and cruel “sport” in Texas called “donkey roping.”  Do you happen to know?

This photo has been circulating all over the web.

My answer: I think that the first time I saw this photo, the caption said this donkey was in the custody of a rescue group.  I am really not sure though and I too would like to know what happened to this donkey. 

 If anybody has any answers, please let me know.  Thanks!

Stirring Things Up

I seem to have stirred up quite a bit of dust here about this donkey roping thing, which is OK by me:)  The response has been amazing and has spread farther and faster then I could have imagined.  I am trying to compile a list of contacts for people to get in touch with...politely please.   If you haven't seen it yet, here is a letter posted by Justina at Morning Bray Farm:

I just got off the phone with Patricia Golden at the Van Horn, Texas Chamber of Commerce. She's a very nice lady and we had a civilized conversation.
I suppose I was fortunate to get through. I've seen some comments online where folks are saying that their calls aren't being answered by the Van Horn Chamber of Commerce. When I asked Ms. Golden about this, she said that she's had to stop answering the phone because people are calling and screaming and cursing at her. If you called me and dropped the F-bomb on me, you'd better believe I wouldn't want to talk with you either.  :-)
It's possible to be angry and civil at the same time, folks. We're not going to get anywhere with this if we're screaming at the people with whom we're trying to communicate.  :-)
She's received about 550 emails so far and wishes that she could answer them all. She's quite grateful for the education she's receiving about donkey roping... like many people, she didn't realize that there are valid and explainable reasons for why donkeys shouldn't be roped. She reminded me that this (rodeo) is very culturally ingrained there - it's up to us to educate and to rationally show these folks why this is no longer (okay, it never should have been) culturally acceptable.
Ms. Golden wrote a letter to the Van Horn city administrator this morning warning him that the "donkey community" out there is gaining momentum and that this is not going away.  When she Googled "donkey roping Van Horn Rodeo" this morning, she saw first hand how much is going on out here on the Web... she's very aware!
She's not the decision maker here, but she is a key influencer. She requested that all phone calls go to Jason Owens; the promoter of the event. His phone number is 432-940-9051. Ms. Golden said that she spoke with Jason this morning and told him that she would be directing folks to him. Jason said that he would take all calls. Please call Jason Owens and tell him (civilly) why he needs to cancel the donkey roping competition in next Saturday's (June 23) Van Horn Rodeo. Ms. Golden pointed out that if Jason receives enough phone calls educating him about why this should not happen - he very well may decide to bow under pressure. But again, please be civil. Believe me, I'm angry too!
One additional request from Ms. Golden - she needs to show the city administrator public pressure from the media. When she checked the local papers yesterday evening, there were no letters to the editor about this subject. She said if she could show the city administrator letters to the editor, it would go a long way.
Please start by writing to Larry Simpson, editor at The Van Horn Advocate: lsimpson@vanhornadvocate.com


I see this donkey roping issue as a symptom of a larger problem. That being: too many unwanted donkeys and not enough public awareness regarding donkeys in general along with their lack of monetary value.  This last, combined with their numbers makes them easy targets for abuse and neglect.  I haven't figured out how to address this larger problem beyond what I am already doing.  For now, I would be happy with ending the roping.  If anyone has any suggestions, I would be glad to hear them.

At the moment,  I think that targeting media sources and promoters like Jason Owens (politely) will be the most effective.  The link to the local paper is in the above letter.

Here is a link to one of the Van Horn radio stations:
http://www.afa.net/Radio/

There is also an online petition which you can sign here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/van-horn-texas-chamber-of-commerce-donkey-roping-must-be-stopped

Since the response to this has been so overwhelming (in a good way) I will try to post updates as I can.  Don't worry though, if a baby donkey happens to show up here, everything else in the universe will come to a screeching halt and you will definitely hear about it:)

Up on my soapbox

I have seen some blog posts, notably this one from the Mugwump chronicles (click here) that describe humane methods of using donkeys for roping practice.  I acknowledge that there may be ways of using donkeys as an aid in training roping horses that do not harm the donkeys.  I have seen videos of this and I agree it can be done and done well.  I also see that there is value in training these donkeys this way.  If the majority of roping donkeys were treated like this, I would support it whole-heartedly.  Anything that makes a donkey more economically valuable is a good thing.  It's the best insurance of good treatment an animal can have. 

However, this kind of training really has nothing to do with donkey roping competitions.  Once these donkeys are forced to run into an arena using a cattle prod, chased down by a team of ropers in a timed event and thrown to the ground as fast and as hard as possible so that they go down and stay down...well, there just isn't any way to do that in a humane way. 

These competitions are not training sessions.  The roping horses are not there to learn new skills.  These donkeys are not being taught anything useful.  This is not helping to promote donkeys or increase their monetary value, far from it in fact.

The reason you won't see many posts of this nature on this blog is that it is too easy to point fingers and cry foul.  There is far too much of that floating around the web already.  I believe that if you really want to help an animal (or person), then just go out and do it.  Lord knows, you won't have to look far.

However, some things need exposing, they need public awareness and outcry.  We need for our community as a whole to simply say "this is not acceptable".  Look to the gaited horse industry and the horrors of soreing that have been going on for decades if you need an example.  Donkey roping is a fairly new "sport".  Lets try to put a stop to it before it becomes an entrenched tradition and way of life. 

If you have made it this far and are still with me up here on my soap-box, here is another name for your mailing list.  This guy is a donkey roping promoter: 

Jason Owens
Dos Gringos Productions
432-940-9051
thedollarj@hotmail.com

If you sent a message to the Van Horn Chamber of Commerce, please pass it on to this guy as well.  He is not just the local Chamber of Commerce, but one of the guys actually promoting these events across the Southwest.

Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to read this and thank you again to those who have  taken action.  
 

Donkey Roping

I was sent an email asking me to help get the word out about trying to stop this shameful "sport" that is becoming quite popular in Texas.  I don't normally post this kind of thing, but the growing popularity of donkey roping is frightening to me.  All I have to do is picture what this would do to my little Emma to know that this is a horrible thing to do to any donkey.  Emma would be absolutely devastated by this kind of treatment and she is exactly the kind of donkey these people are using.

Donkeys do not handle this kind of abuse well at all, especially when it is repeated over and over and over again.  Unlike calves, who are never roped more than a few times because they are too valuable to damage, donkeys in Texas have no monetary value.  Because of this, these donkeys are roped over and over again until they either shut down completely from terror and trauma or are too maimed to continue.

Please take a moment to contact the Van Horn Chamber of Commerce (one of the supporters) and ask them to put a stop to this.   Their contact info is:

P.O. Box 762

Van Horn, Texas 79855

(432) 283-2043, Monday - Friday
9:00 am to 3:00 pm

patriciagolden@vanhorntexas.org

Please pass the word about this.  Most of the population has never heard of donkey roping, I know I hadn't until I bought Emma and started researching donkeys.  This is the kind of thing that won't last if enough light is shed on it so please spread the word.  Emma and I thank you for it.

Responsibility

There is a lot of talk right now about the lifting of the ban on slaughtering horses for human consumption in the US.  However, the controversy over slaughter eclipses the real conversation we should be having.  The issue isn't about slaughter, it's about responsibility.  As human beings we are responsible for domestic animals.   We created them yet we are failing them.

I have personal experience with the horrors associated with slaughter.  I also have personal experience with the horrors associated with the banning of slaughter.  There are more horses and donkeys being abandoned, starved and abused now than I ever remember seeing.   Much of this abuse stems directly from the devaluation of the animals.  The only good to come out of the slaughter industry is a guaranteed value for every equine.  Practices such as donkey roping or abandonment are a direct result of the donkeys having absolutely no economic value.  It is a hard truth that people don't value what they don't pay for.

If it comes down to a choice of short term abuse followed by slaughter or long term abuse followed by an agonizing death, I guess I would choose the first route.  Personally, I don't like either option which is what drives me to purchase animals in great need whenever I can manage it.  It is why I spent several years working in an animal shelter.  It is partly how I got Emma and how I rescued a pair of driving horses a few years ago, and a mustang before that, and others.......I do this on my own and on my own terms.  I do not ask for money.  I take on what I can handle at any given time.  I acknowledge and accept that I have a responsibility.   I may not have saved thousands but I have saved some.  Think what it would mean if all horse owners acknowledged the same level of responsibility.

If you are unhappy about the ban on horse slaughter being lifted, do something about it.  And I don't mean signing petitions and writing your congressman either, they can't help.  Petitions and letters don't feed horses.  Go out and find an animal that needs help, a 30 second scan of craigslist will provide ample opportunities.   If you don't know how to help on your own, find a rescue group and work with them.  Take responsibility.  We created these animals, we are responsible.  All of us.