VENTURA : Deputies, Activists Make Their Case at Rodeo

Two political dynamics were at work Sunday as the Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn. hosted its annual rodeo in the main arena at the county fairgrounds in Ventura.

Members of the Ventura-based animal rights group Animal Emancipation Inc. handed out brochures opposing the treatment of rodeo animals while sheriff’s deputies asked fans to sign postcards urging county supervisors to spare their department from proposed budget cuts of nearly $5 million.

Tedra Fox and Robyn Franklyn stood outside the main parking lot dispensing literature contending that rodeo animals frequently are “dragged, tripped, roped, wrestled and electrically shocked.”

“Cruelty to animals in any aspect is totally unacceptable,” said Franklyn, a self-avowed vegetarian from Thousand Oaks who works as a sign-language interpreter. “There’s no reason for the rodeo or any animal exploitation at all.”

But the two-person protest did nothing to stop thousands of people from enjoying the 2 p.m. show Sunday.

“It’s a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon,” said Garth Weals, a Newbury Park electrical engineer who brought his wife, Stephanie, and their son Nicholas, 7, and daughter Caitlin, 5, to the first of two shows.

“If I knew there was definite abuse that was well beyond what was reasonable at a rodeo, then maybe I wouldn’t come,” he said. “But there’s a lot worse things we do to animals.”

Shawna Boatman, a Humane Society of Ventura County officer on duty Sunday, said the treatment of rodeo animals has improved over the years. She said she had heard no reports of animal abuse at the rodeo by Sunday afternoon.

Inside a booth near the bleachers, Sheriff’s Deputy Patti Dreyer was asking people to sign postcards addressed to county supervisors urging the board not to cut the sheriff’s budget.

“We’re not asking for more money. We’re just asking to be left alone,” said Dreyer, who estimated more than 1,000 cards would be turned over to the board before the budget is decided.

Dreyer, the only representative from the association available Sunday, said she didn’t know about the small protest outside.

“I don’t think they targeted us directly,” Dreyer said. “I assume they show up at events where animals are involved.”

The public address announcer also got in on the action, telling the crowd that rodeo organizers treat their animals “like athletes” and urging people to sign the postcards.

Two more shows are scheduled at 2 and 7 p.m. today.