This was originally published in the Daily Egyptian newspaper's letters to the editor section about 1993 or 94.
Rodeo Animals receive superior care...
It is my understanding that an Animal Rights League protested at the Longhorn Rodeo at Cape Girardeau. Their main concern is supposedly the health and welfare of animals. So, lets address that for a minute. These animals, who are allegedly abused, are in reality the "professional athletes" of the Horse and Cattle world. They receive superior care at all times. If they receive and injury it is treated immediately. If they need to be vaccinated they are tended to immediately. They are fed the best feed and are provided clean water and have more than ample shelter. Since animals do not need monetary reimbursement, the absolute best they can ask is to be taken good care of by their owners. If regular "blue collar" horses and cows had human feelings they would probably idolize these athletic superstars. I am equally sure some "extremist" horses and cows would be hateful and even jealous toward these "rich rodeo cows." Rodeo associations have taken many safeguards to protect all their athletes, animals and humans, just like the boxing associations, and the NFL. Rodeo animals receive superior treatment, not inferior treatment.
As far as the cowboys themselves, while they may portray to some a "macho" image, let us remember something else they stand for: They are hard workers who work from daylight to dusk. They stand for principles. During times of war they stood in defense of this great country while protesters were doing what they do best, protest. They are not flag burners or draft dodgers, which is a lot more than I can say for some of our elected officials, or for most of these animal rights extremists. Lets remember the old saying, " The cowboys best friend is his horse."
James Killion, taxpayer
I just felt compelled to share my thoughts, 20 years or so later. I promise you that my position has not changed where animal rights nuts are concerned. Now mind you, as I sit at my desk typing this I can see the hair raising on the back of some of your necks in anger. Listen, no one and I mean NO ONE enjoys animals more than me. I see them as great creations of God for our enjoyment. They are special, and the companionship of an animal has been the difference in many a person's life. They can be God's way of comforting the lonely among us, the sick, and the elderly. I cannot imagine life without animals. I would not, nor would I tolerate in others, animal abuse or torture of any kind. It is a low form of humanity that would starve or mistreat an animal. The Bible gives us dominion over all the beast of the field. Having said that there are many scriptures that talk about stewardship. If we are given the blessing of dominion, we also bear the responsibility of stewardship. We know the parable of the talents, and we know it did not work out so well for the man who hid his talent, and was not a good steward. Lets be kind to what the Lord has given us, OKAY!!!
Having said that, ANIMALS ARE NOT HUMANS AND SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS SUCH!!! It aggravates the living fire out of me when I see anyone compare the worth of any animal to that of a human being. I see posts on social media all the time of people, very radicalized people who seem to believe that somehow human life and the live of Fido, or FeeFee, is on the same plane. I realize these people love their animals and are very sincere, however, SIR, OR MAAM YOU ARE SINCERELY WRONG! I attended, as an exhibitor, several years ago, one of the local home and garden shows in the area. I wanted our business to be recognized in the community and was invited by the association and the local chamber of commerce to participate. Upon arriving at the facility on the first day, with my 8 year old son, who had severe allergic reactions to dog and cat dander I found out that the local humane shelter had been invited to participate in the event, and their booth was just a few feet from our display booth that we had paid a considerable sum of money to rent. The animal shelter people had their animals out of their cages and were leading dogs right in front of our display. When I kindly went to them, and explained the situation, they basically told me they were in a public building and they were going to do as they pleased. I proceeded to go to the event planner, and again plead my 8 year old son's case. They kindly moved the humane shelter folks to the other side of the building. However, it was not over, as they continued to walk past us, as if to taunt. They had, as one of the animals they had with them, a treeing walker coonhound. They also had several cats. At one point in the two day process, one of the cats got loose, then the coonhound broke free and it was total chaos with these animals running throughout all the displays, turning over things and upending several displays before the humane shelter folks finally got their animals corralled. Still, they were unrepentant towards everyone involved and at one point made the statement that My son should be left at home if he had this problem. The following year, I received the same invitation to participate in their event and I contacted the representative from the chamber of commerce to ask, Was the humane shelter coming back to this event? I was told yes, and that if I had a problem with that I was not welcome to display my products. You can imagine my response to that. RADICAL ANIMAL RIGHTS EXTREMISTS ARE MORE OF A PROBLEM NOW THAN WHEN I WROTE THE ABOVE LETTER TO THE EDITOR OVER 20 YEARS AGO. IT IS TIME THAT SOME COMMON SENSE ENTERED BACK ONTO THE SCENE. I later found out that the humane shelter in question did not even have to pay for their booth space, it was donated. Beautiful, the chamber of commerce kicked a paying customer out of their event so they could cater to this bunch of well intentioned idiots that placed the welfare of an 8 year old boy beneath their own self centered agenda! A government body practicing political correctness. I just wonder, if my son had been a minority, and an illegal alien, if the chamber would have been so quick to remove his rights from him in the place of dogs and cats. It would have certainly created a dilemma for them. It would be interesting to know how that would have went down.
In 1980, in the very same town, in the very same exhibition building, I competed in the ACHA World Coonhound Championships with my great blue tick coonhound, Mackie. As was customary, on the first afternoon, all the hounds and hunters were gathered together for a season of prayer prior to drawing and going to the woods. I will never forget one sentence of the prayer uttered that day by the Reverend Timothy Ball. He said, " let us keep in perspective as we compete this week that the life of the most valuable coon hound on this fair grounds is not as valuable as the life of the lowest man on earth." WORDS TO LIVE BY.
