*** For New Hampshire residents only. Please sign only if you live in New Hampshire (United States), Thank you! ***
Starting in 2020, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Tour added Manchester, New Hampshire to their list of stops.
Ever since, the NH Animal Rights League (NHARL) has held peaceful protests outside the arena before each show, most recently on Sat., Dec. 17 and Sun., Dec. 18, 2022.
Bull riding is not a sport. It's an inherently cruel business masquerading as "family entertainment."
Being a PBR bull means being hauled around the country in a trailer, prodded into stalls and chutes, and on performance nights subjected to "a rock concert environment, complete with pulsating music, and explosive pyrotechnics," as promoters describe it.
On event night, life for the bulls goes from just unnatural to downright dangerous. Although portrayed as "beasts" who are impervious to pain, bulls are not machines and often get hurt. Veterinarian and former rodeo performer Peggy Larson explains, "Bucking straps and spurs can cause the bull to buck beyond his normal capacity, and his legs or back may thus be broken."
Remarkably, despite the terrible risk to both the rider and animal, bull riding is marketed as family entertainment. These events may seem like harmless fun, but consider the message they send to both children and adults: it's okay to dominate and control animals, to force them to perform for our entertainment, and to give little thought to their needs or imagine how they might be suffering.
We ask the City of Manchester's Board of Alderman to ban bull riding and other rodeo-type events within city limits.
