Information About The Stock Show!



The Stock Show The National Western Stock Show, one of the largest in the world, serves as a major platform for the agricultural industry to exploit animals. Cows, calves, pigs, ducks, chickens, lambs, geese and goats are all shown and exhibited at this event to be judged on the quality of meat they might produce for human consumption. Stock shows exploit the myth and traditions of the American West, animal husbandry and agriculture while all the time simply supplying a venue and event to further feed the extremely cruel factory farm system and our country's taste for blood. Animals that “participate” in the stock show are not awarded a blue ribbon for how well groomed and cared for they are, as it may deceptively appear, but rather on the quality of breeding stock for meat, or simply the meat that they might produce. These animals are raised specifically for this reason. Their well-groomed appearance at the show is maintained only to draw the attention of judges and potential buyers from stockyards and slaughterhouses. Categories that the stock show created to exhibit these unfortunate animals who are valued only for the taste of their flesh include “Junior Market Meat Goat,” “Junior Market Swine,” “Junior Market Beef,” “Market Poultry,” and “Junior Market Lamb.” These events typically involve the animal being judged in two ways: first, in the show ring (or “on the hoof”) and second, after they have been slaughtered (just hours later) for the important “carcass phase” of the event. For this second phase, the animals are shipped to a nearby slaughterhouse and then a meat-packing plant. Each carcass will then be ranked and prizes awarded. Animals whose carcasses are either condemned or found unacceptable by the slaughterhouse assessment may either be discarded or sent to a plant that processes “low-quality animals” for products such as pet food. The events surrounding the lamb, goat and calf exhibitions are especially cruel. Animals entered into these events are basically infants, as they must be born no more than 15 days before the event in Denver. This is an excessively early time to wean large mammals such as calves from his or her mother. For these exhibitions, the National Western Stock Show entry rules state that “market animals must have milk teeth [and] baby teeth must be intact at the time of processing.” This means that at the time of the animals' slaughter they must still have been, or just ceased to be, nursing. Proponents of the stock show insist that the animals at this event are well treated; however, the only rules that are at all applicable to treatment of these animals are those that state that they must have water in their pens during the show and that handlers may not use “showing and/or handling devices that cause swelling.” The other rules regarding the animals entered into the stock show deal only with the quality of their carcasses in regards to quality for consumption and adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture Wholesome Meat Act, which simply states that the carcasses must not have high levels of drugs, pesticides, feed additives or other chemicals present; however, last year the Denver Post reported that 18 lambs shown by “owners” (ranging in age from 9 to 19 years) had been found to be injected with a strong chemical substance to make them appear as if they had more muscle than fat. The carcasses of these lambs were also found to be bruised, with lesions and several pockets of blood. The animals involved in the stock show are not the only ones to be harmed by the effects of animal agriculture and factory farming practices. Currently in the United States, the water pollution attributable to factory farming is greater than that of all combined industrial and municipal sources. The few wild animals that are left to live naturally in the western states are many times killed in the interest of “protecting” livestock. For this reason, grizzly bears and wolves are no longer able to roam their natural habitats in Colorado. This rampant pollution takes its severe toll not only on our land and the animals that depend on it for life, but also our bodies. The most common cause of death in the United States is heart disease, and the leading source of saturated fats and cholesterol are meat, dairy products and eggs. There is absolutely no cholesterol in grains, fruits, nuts or vegetables. How many people would actually attend the show with their children to see the cute calves and lambs if they knew that the majority of them were to be slaughtered only hours later in an extremely inhumane manner? The National Western Stock Show’s survival depends on the perpetuation of the myth that cows and pigs and chickens get along with humans. The stock show in reality is a celebration of the blight of animal agriculture and the unmitigated domination of others. What can I do? Return to the top

The National Western Stock Show, one of the largest in the world, serves as a major platform for the agricultural industry to exploit animals. Cows, calves, pigs, ducks, chickens, lambs, geese and goats are all shown and exhibited at this event to be judged on the quality of meat they might produce for human consumption.

Stock shows exploit the myth and traditions of the American West, animal husbandry and agriculture while all the time simply supplying a venue and event to further feed the extremely cruel factory farm system and our country's taste for blood. Animals that “participate” in the stock show are not awarded a blue ribbon for how well groomed and cared for they are, as it may deceptively appear, but rather on the quality of breeding stock for meat, or simply the meat that they might produce. These animals are raised specifically for this reason. Their well-groomed appearance at the show is maintained only to draw the attention of judges and potential buyers from stockyards and slaughterhouses.

Categories that the stock show created to exhibit these unfortunate animals who are valued only for the taste of their flesh include “Junior Market Meat Goat,” “Junior Market Swine,” “Junior Market Beef,” “Market Poultry,” and “Junior Market Lamb.” These events typically involve the animal being judged in two ways: first, in the show ring (or “on the hoof”) and second, after they have been slaughtered (just hours later) for the important “carcass phase” of the event. For this second phase, the animals are shipped to a nearby slaughterhouse and then a meat-packing plant. Each carcass will then be ranked and prizes awarded. Animals whose carcasses are either condemned or found unacceptable by the slaughterhouse assessment may either be discarded or sent to a plant that processes “low-quality animals” for products such as pet food.

The events surrounding the lamb, goat and calf exhibitions are especially cruel. Animals entered into these events are basically infants, as they must be born no more than 15 days before the event in Denver. This is an excessively early time to wean large mammals such as calves from his or her mother. For these exhibitions, the National Western Stock Show entry rules state that “market animals must have milk teeth [and] baby teeth must be intact at the time of processing.” This means that at the time of the animals' slaughter they must still have been, or just ceased to be, nursing.

Proponents of the stock show insist that the animals at this event are well treated; however, the only rules that are at all applicable to treatment of these animals are those that state that they must have water in their pens during the show and that handlers may not use “showing and/or handling devices that cause swelling.”

The other rules regarding the animals entered into the stock show deal only with the quality of their carcasses in regards to quality for consumption and adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture Wholesome Meat Act, which simply states that the carcasses must not have high levels of drugs, pesticides, feed additives or other chemicals present; however, last year the Denver Post reported that 18 lambs shown by “owners” (ranging in age from 9 to 19 years) had been found to be injected with a strong chemical substance to make them appear as if they had more muscle than fat. The carcasses of these lambs were also found to be bruised, with lesions and several pockets of blood.

The animals involved in the stock show are not the only ones to be harmed by the effects of animal agriculture and factory farming practices. Currently in the United States, the water pollution attributable to factory farming is greater than that of all combined industrial and municipal sources. The few wild animals that are left to live naturally in the western states are many times killed in the interest of “protecting” livestock. For this reason, grizzly bears and wolves are no longer able to roam their natural habitats in Colorado. This rampant pollution takes its severe toll not only on our land and the animals that depend on it for life, but also our bodies. The most common cause of death in the United States is heart disease, and the leading source of saturated fats and cholesterol are meat, dairy products and eggs. There is absolutely no cholesterol in grains, fruits, nuts or vegetables.

How many people would actually attend the show with their children to see the cute calves and lambs if they knew that the majority of them were to be slaughtered only hours later in an extremely inhumane manner? The National Western Stock Show’s survival depends on the perpetuation of the myth that cows and pigs and chickens get along with humans. The stock show in reality is a celebration of the blight of animal agriculture and the unmitigated domination of others.

What can I do?

Return to the top