Dear Mr. Neville, Board of Directors, and The Coca-Cola Company:

I am disappointed to learn The Coca-Cola Company has retracted its vow to drop rodeo sponsorship. In fact, Coca-Cola's logo adorned the bucking chute at a 2005 Cheyenne, Wyoming rodeo where a bloody horse was forced to perform despite an obvious hoof injury. Photos of more spattered blood in the chute indicate this horse was not the only wounded animal on display. With advertisements in rodeos throughout North America, Coca-Cola seems content to endorse animal abuse.

Interestingly, a June 6, 2000 letter from Mark Preisinger, Coke Shareholders Affairs Manager, proclaimed: "The Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations will not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals... I also want to assure you that if you hear of any violations of this policy anywhere we do business, I would be anxious to know about it and will commit to rectifying the matter promptly."

I respectfully submit the fact that all animals used in rodeos are at "risk of physical harm."

"Without torture, there can be no rodeo," claims Peggy W. Larson, DVM, MS, JD, a former bareback bronco rider who says horses and bulls buck wildly only because they are in pain from rigid flank straps and spurring. Rodeo handlers bully animals with electric prods, straps, spurs and tail twisting. On-site veterinarians cannot intervene once a deliberately agitated animal is released into the ring.

Their eyes bulge in terror. They wheeze and tremble. Some suffer for days before they are hauled to the slaughterhouse. While the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PCRA) and International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) allege compliance with animal welfare regulations, graphic documentation tells a different story.

One cruelty investigator who records calf-roping "rehearsals" observes, "Without the noise of the crowd and announcer you can actually hear the calves' bodies slamming on the ground, and their choking and coughing after being clotheslined." In holding chutes, calves have their tails twisted and wrenched over steel bars. As they flee into the ring at speeds up to 27 miles per hour, the "cowboy" neck-chokes and smashes them into the ground. He typically body-slams them again for theatrical effect.

For bucking events, the horses' intestines and groins are cinched so tightly they lurch in response to the pain. Animals who won't buck are shocked with electric prods. Many careen into fences, posts or chutes.

In steer roping contests, a rider lassos a running, 700-pound steer and jerks the animal's head and neck in a 180-degree loop, pitching him into the dirt. The steer is tripped, tossed and lugged for 30 feet or more so the roper can subdue him and bind his legs for a score.

Animal welfare groups worldwide denounce rodeo's trail of busted bones, cracked skulls and severed spines. Please keep me informed of any decision to cease rodeo sponsorship, so I may let family, friends and colleagues know Coca-Cola does not support verified animal cruelty.

Sincerely,
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