A Ban on Wild Cow Milking Annoys Rodeo Oldtimers

Alameda County has banned the rodeo spectacle of “wild cow milking,” in which lactating beef cows are separated from their calves, chased around an arena until roped and tackled into submission, then forcibly milked. The Mercury News calls this barbarism “one of the sport’s more popular local events.”

Animal-rights advocates had also hoped to ban the spurs and bucking straps wielded by rodeo cowboys to provoke bulls into bucking, but the County Board of Supervisors let those accouterments continue.
Still, any improvement on these crimes against nature is a win. County Board Supervisor Richard Valle noted the mental and physical stress the cows suffer during the milking event, and the fact that the animals have no say in the matter. “Animals, they don’t step up to the podium,” Valle said at last week’s packed meeting. “They don’t get to speak. Who speaks for them?”

In 2019 the same County Board banned the rodeo event known as “mutton busting,” where small children jumped onto the backs of sheep and forced them to give a ride. Veterinarians said the hapless sheep were often injured in the process.

Rodeo enthusiasts say that their time-honored traditions are threatened by these marginal improvements to their spectacles. You know what? Good.

Photo credit: Doug Duran / Mercury News