Encyclopedia of animal rights and animal 579

536 | Sports and Animals of Mithraism, an early religion of the Roman Empire Some consider the pageantry of bull-fighting to be an art form It remains a popular spectator sport in Spain and Mexico, though interest is waning in Spain, invariably ending with the death of the bull Matador gorings are not uncommon, and occasionally deadly The Romantic period’s changing ethic and outcry against cruelty, including the use of animals in some sports, might have been lauded as a sign of an enlightened public concern for animal pain and suffering However, early changes in doctrine regarding proper treatment of animals arrived out of concern not for the animals themselves, but that mistreatment of animals would lead to depravity against men This anthropocentric view was combined with various interpretations of the Old Testament, which ensured human dominion over all animals, but cautioned against unnecessary suffering The resulting combination of religious piety and bourgeois sensibilities led to the banning and social stigmatization of many previously popular animal sports Hunting, however, remained largely outside these restrictions, with the separation between legitimate meat acquisition, predator/ vermin eradication, and pleasurable entertainment used as justification The American West had its own evolution of thought regarding animal sports Early settlers were amazed at the number and diversity of game animals, and greed brought on by the fur trade and apparent inexhaustibility of animal resources led to some mind-boggling excesses The demise of the passenger pigeon and great buffalo herds are two of the most impressive examples of human myopia, much of it carried out in the name of sport Theodore Roosevelt was an enthusiastic sportsman, killing thousands of animals on hunting trips across North America and Africa He believed that shooting game was necessary “to cultivate that vigorous manliness” that comes from close contact with nature (Mighetto, 1991, p 34) He was also concerned that continued exploitation of resources could lead to wildlife shortages, a sentiment shared by a small but influential group of men of his time He is credited with cofounding the Boone and Crockett Club in 1888, one of the first conservation organizations The members of the club were not so much concerned with animal welfare as worried that overhunting would leave future generations without adequate stocks of game species Land for habitat was set aside in establishment of the first wildlife preserves to help ensure future sport hunting opportunities During this time, too, the sport of rodeo emerged as a series of competitive activities associated with the cattle drives of the American South and Midwest Cowboys, bored by endless days in the saddle, amused themselves by holding impromptu contests of skill and bravery, including bull and bronc riding, calf roping, and steer wrestling, among others When the great cattle drives ended, rodeo continued on as an organized sport, and still enjoys a wide audience across the United States and Canada Today, moral concerns related to animals in sport lie with the welfare and capabilities of animals themselves, a shift from the anthropocentric and largely utilitarian mindset This change in climate around some controversial aspects of sport such as rodeo calf-roping and bronc riding, open field coursing, canned hunts, and rattlesnake roundups, for example, has lent encouragement to nonconsumptive sports such as racing, catch-and-release fishing, and flyball,