|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Mounted Patrol of San Mateo County says that its annual pig scramble — kids chasing and tackling pigs at the July Fourth rodeo — is a prized element of Woodside’s Western culture. The residents belonging to the Committee for a Humane Woodside disagree, calling this particular rodeo event cruel to the pigs, damaging to the ethics of the impressionable children who participate in it, and not essential to a Western cultural heritage.
A showdown before the Town Council is set for tonight (Tuesday, March 28). The two sides will not be wielding six-guns, nor will the drama play out on a dusty street at high noon — the council meets at 7:30 p.m. in Independence Hall at 2955 Woodside Road — but if this meeting is like its predecessors, there will be cowboy hats.
Also on the council’s agenda for March 28:
• Resolutions on employment agreements with the Town Manager Kevin Bryant and Town Attorney Jean Savaree.
• A resolution to engage a representative from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University to facilitate an ad hoc committee of seven to 10 Woodside residents. The committee would review and make recommendations about possible changes to the town’s code of ethics.
The code came under scrutiny recently after two residents filed ethics complaints that appear to have left the mayor and town attorney with little choice but to pursue full investigations, at a cost to the town of nearly $43,000.
Ban the scramble?
The Humane Woodside committee has asked the council to ban the pig scramble — a step taken by the state of Minnesota and the Hayward (California) Area Recreation and Park District — and Town Hall has received “thousands of emails and letters, nearly all of them in favor of banning the pig scramble,” Town Manager Kevin Bryant said in a staff report.
The town’s Livestock and Equestrian Heritage Committee, which advises the council on livestock questions, unanimously approved a statement that describes the pig scramble as an event that “does not meet the highest ideals.” The statement “encourage(s) modification” of the event, while noting that to the committee’s knowledge, no pigs have been injured or killed.
In his staff report, Mr. Bryant notes that the pig scramble does not violate the Patrol’s conditional use permit. The council’s options, he said, include doing nothing, exploring regulatory options, or issuing a non-binding statement.
In a recent statement provided to the Almanac by Patrol Captain Victor Aenlle, he noted that pig scrambles “are legal,” that pigs have not been injured in the 40 years this event has been going on, and that the Patrol is being bullied and perhaps discriminated against, adding that Patrol members do not condone mistreatment of animals.
“Much more is at stake here than the assumed stress of the pigs,” Mr. Aenlle writes. “The rights of people and their cultural practices can not be stepped on in this country. We have the right to pursue and preserve our way of life. Furthermore, our community has the right to participate in the culture and traditions of their choosing.”
“Cultural rights are of vital importance and do not carry any lesser significance than religious beliefs, gender association, sexual preference, or any of the other freedoms people enjoy in this country,” Mr. Aenlle continued. “Our country recognizes that cultural rights are an integral part of human rights. At the Mounted Patrol, we are men of principles and hold closely to not only our heritage, but to the protected rights afforded by the country we live in. For this reason, we stand together on this issue.”
People tend to dislike conflict and will do “everything they can to avoid it and often choose the easiest route to make it go away,” Mr. Aenlle writes. “This tendency is often abused by groups with special interests; they are so focused on their agendas that they forget about the rights of others, or just flat out do not care. This sector of our society knows that if they make enough noise or create uncomfortable feelings amongst neighboring communities, they will succeed in advancing their agenda. This is often achieved by publishing lies, or to be politically correct, publishing half-truths and manipulating words and data.”
The Committee for a Humane Woodside responded. “Most people who live in Woodside have a real affinity for animals and don’t like to see them mistreated,” the Committee says, adding that that affinity is made evident by the attention given on online forums when a “dog, cat, horse, goat or even a chicken” has gotten loose or lost.
“As to the argument that the pig ‘scramble’ is a ‘cultural practice’ and ‘associated with Western heritage’ and is ‘protected under cultural rights’ in the United States and internationally, well, if Mr Aenlle can cite the appropriate statute or legal precedent, that would be helpful, but there is simply no basis for this statement,” the Committee says.
“The criteria for whether something is a humane activity that warrants community support is not simply that ‘hey, it’s legal.’ Laws that protect animals are rapidly evolving and the Mounted Patrol would generate a lot of goodwill and indeed praise from the community if these men would champion animal welfare — not just for horses but for all animals,” the Committee says. “What great role models they could be!”
“If our aim was to end the rodeo,” the Committee adds, “we would have worked on that from the beginning. We have for almost a year, expressed a clear, consistent message that we are seeking an end to one non-sanctioned rodeo event, namely the pig ‘scramble.'”
—
How is kids jumping on pigs any different from adults jumping on cows and horses? Don’t tell me that cows enjoy being lassoed and tied up and horses enjoy being broken and trained.
If it were dogs, the nation would be pounding down the doors of Woodside, demanding it be stopped.
Yes it was a tradition. So were a lot of terrible things this society has evolved away from.
Parents who don’t “get” the concept that “pig scramble” is animal abuse should examine their fitness for parenthood. “Tradition” is as “tradition” does. Think about it, mom ‘n’ dad…
Just for the record, an on-line petition to ban the “scrambles” (sponsored by ANIMAL PLACE) collected more than 26,000 (yes, THOUSAND) signatures in only about three weeks. People DO care. Add to that, more than two dozen local veterinarians signed a statement in support of banning the scrambles, and the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA is strongly opposed to this cruelty, as is Pope Francis (see his 2014 Encyclical on Climate Change).
As noted above, the annual Rowell Ranch Rodeo in Castro Valley (May 20-21) has banned ALL such “scrambles” since 1987, yet the rodeo continues to thrive. Woodside should follow suit. Indeed, a San Mateo County-wide ordinance is called for, perhaps sponsored by the Peninsula Society & SPCA.
For most animals, rodeo is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse. Must we therefore torment and terrorize them before we eat them, and all for the most trivial of reasons, mere “entertainment”? The pigs (and we) deserve better.
And what a terrible message to send to impressionable young children about the proper treatment of animals! The scrambles are likely a violation of our State Education Code 60042, which mandates that “humane education and kindness to animals” be taught in the public schools, K-12. Woodside school teachers and parents need to speak up. It’s only a matter of time before some kid gets a pig’s hoof in the eye.
And consider the following, from world-renowned animal behaviorist, Dr. Temple Grandin (herself autistic, giving her some rare insights): “In assessing criteria for suffering, psychological stress–which is fear stress–should be considered as important as suffering induced by pain.”
Lastly, simple “tradition” justifies nothing. I’m from the South, where slavery, dogfighting and worse were “traditional” for years. Some “traditions” deserve to die, and the “pig scramble” is one of them. In these Trumpian Dark Days, surely the need for a little kindness in the world is greater than ever, for humans and non-humans alike.
WOODSIDE TOWN COUNCIL – The world is watching, and expecting you to “do the right thing” by these abused baby pigs and exploited children.
As playwright Tennessee Williams once wrote, “Cruelty is the only unforgivable sin.” (“Night of the Iguana”)
EMAIL: Mayor Tom Livermore and the Woodside Town Council: council.members@woodsidetown.org
Kind regards,
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland
email – afa@mcn.org
Captain Aenlle writes: “Our country recognizes that cultural rights are an integral part of human rights. At the Mounted Patrol, we are men of principles and hold closely to not only our heritage, but to the protected rights afforded by the country we live in. For this reason, we stand together on this issue.” Surely Woodside has better cultural traditions than teaching children to drag, drop, chase, and terrify piglets?
I have written in this forum before about the terror my children and children around us experienced when we watched Woodside pig scramble during 4th of July Rodeo. Kids who were not participating in the pig scramble were in tears begging their parents to help the piglets who were getting chased, dragged, kicked, running terrified and hiding under their trailers only to be dragged out by “patriotic” men of Mounted Patrol.
Lets hope that tonight is the night Woodside ends the exploitation of baby animals in the name of entertainment and closes a shameful chapter in Woodside history.
This is awful! The pig scramble needs to be banned ASAP!
SeaWorld Orca Show: GONE for good reason
Barnum and Bailey Circus: GONE for good reason
Woodside Pig Scramble: ????
Join the era of enlightenment. Vote with your feet and your pocketbook. Boycott the July 4th Woodside Rodeo if there’s a Pig Scramble. The Mounted Patrol will get the message loud and clear.
March 28, 2017 – midnight
Put on your black arm bands, folks. As expected, the Woodside Town Council tonight sold out the pigs and their constituents, deciding, in their wisdom, TO TAKE NO ACTION on the “scrambles.” This despite the fact that there was OVERWHELMING support for the ban: Some 20-25 people spoke up for the pigs, often quite eloquently (including three children), all to no avail. Plus more than 25,000 signatures on an on-line petition in support of the ban.
Inexcusably, THREE of the Council’s SEVEN members recused themselves due to supposed “conflicts of interest.” One member’s excuse was that she “lived next door to the Mounted Patrol grounds.” SO?? Even if they didn’t vote, they ALL should have been required to stay and hear all the testimony.
Only TWO people spoke up for the status quo: Mt. Patrol Captain Victor Aenlle (who claims there’s NO cruelty involved; I guess one sees what one wants to see). And one other person, also a Patrol member, but who spoke as a private citizen. Ugh. Mayor Livermore noted that his daughter had taken part in the scrambles, and was challenged from the audience: “Then why don’t YOU recuse yourself?” Good question. Mayor Livermore then opined that it was the duty of the State Legislature to resolve this matter, not the Woodside Town Council. Yeah, it’s called PASSING THE BUCK. A shameful display of political and ethical cowardice, and the council needs to hear from everyone. This cannot stand.
EMAIL – council.members@woodsidetown.org. People should also be writing letters to the local papers: THE ALMANAC, THE POST, SAN MATEO TIMES, et al.
Maybe time, too, to be considering boycotts of businesses who support the rodeo and/or advertise in the rodeo program. Talk to local business owners, asking them to pressure the Council to do the right thing. Money talks.
Principal Bob Sherman and the teachers at Woodside Elementary also need to hear from the locals. The “scrambles” are a violation of State Education Code 60042, which mandates that “humane education and kindness to animals” be taught in the public schools, K-12. Let them hear from you! Maybe a picket line would get their attention….
Meanwhile, BOYCOTT THE RODEO until these baby pigs get the justice they deserve: WOODSIDE’S SHAME. The pigs and the public both deserve better.
Can’t Woodside do better than this Mt. Patrol Captain Victor Aenlle guy? This person is clearly a cipher and a throwback to a far less enlightened time, as are the Woodside council members, apparently. Time for the good citizens of Woodside to clean house.
I suspect there will be some signs picketing the rodeo this July 4Reminding parents that chasing baby pigs around is cruel. Great publicity for the rodeo. I think what a nice message it would send if they switched from a baby pig Chase to a giant pig petting zoo.
That will be a win-win.
With the kids really want is a chance to interact with the pigs. That can be done in a gentle way and everyone’s happy.