SAN DIEGO (KGTV)— The first ever Rodeo at Petco Park, held back in January, garnered mixed reviews from the public. Despite some pushback, it is still set to return in the new year from Jan. 10-12, 2025.
Thursday, the city of San Diego's Land Use and Housing Committee will discuss options for a rodeo ordinance, which aims to protect animals from harmful practices in rodeo. The San Diego Humane Society is proposing new regulations and even a ban on some of the activities, calling them 'inhumane.'
But for others, these rodeos are more than just a sport or entertainment under bright lights -- it’s a long-time tradition.
"It gives us the opportunity to share the Western lifestyle in settings that normally don't have a large agricultural background, kind of like San Diego," says Jed Pugsley of C5 Rodeo.
Pugsley has grown up around this lifestyle and these everyday traditions since he was a child.
"I was born into it, so I'm fifth generation," he says. "My family's been on the same parcel of land and operating a beef cattle ranch. So, it's not something that I take lightly. I'm very proud of the things that I do and why I do them, and many other individuals out there are in the similar shoes to me."
And with the return of the upcoming rodeo comes support but also concern.
"We think it's a pretty clear issue about animal welfare issues that we don't want to have rodeos in San Diego," says Brian Daugherty, Executive Vice President of the San Diego Humane Society.
Daugherty and the Humane Society are opening up the discussion to push for an end to activities like calf roping, team roping, and steer wrestling.
"It's the most egregious examples that are harmful to animals," Daugherty explains. "Every rodeo event cause fear, stress, and anxiety in the animals, all of them. These- these examples of the other events have a significant incidence of injury and harm."
But will rolling back these popular and traditional activities change what an overall rodeo event is? Pugsley says it's difficult to say.
"The tie down roping or the steer wrestling or the team roping that you mentioned, those are activities that cowboys like myself work on ranches every single day and accomplish those tasks."
Earlier this year, when we spoke to some of the thousands who attended the inaugural event, many leaned towards supporting the rodeo tradition but didn't believe it was done in malice.
"I don't get too concerned because they do have people that care about them. It's a little exploited, but they love them, and that's what they’re trained to do."
But activists against these practices with rodeo animals also stood outside protesting the event, which some expect to happen again this year. In the end, both sides wish to push for some common ground.
"We would love to move to that while we look at more long-term solutions to be able to find that. Is there a pathway to that? We would love to be able to see that," says Daugherty. "I don't know exactly what it is at this moment, but I certainly won't say that one doesn't exist."
Pugsley agrees that both sides can meet at the table and discuss how to move forward.
"We have nothing to hide; we don't try and push anything under the rug, but we are here to have those open and honest conversations and to ultimately teach what we do."
