‘Cows’ to Storm Twisters Premiere Over Depiction of Rodeo; PETA Calls For Cruelty Disclaimer
For Immediate Release:
July 9, 2024
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
A “herd” of PETA supporters wearing cow masks will converge on the Twisters premiere at the Regency Village Theatre on Thursday to blast the film for forcing animals to stage distressing scenes that glorify rodeos. Bearing signs reading, “Calves’ Necks Are Twisted at Rodeos,” the animal allies will call on Universal Pictures to include a disclaimer in the movie’s credits about the real-life cruelty inherent in the events—in which cows (including calves), horses, and other animals are tormented, maimed, and often killed—and to discourage audiences from attending them.
Where: Outside the Regency Village Theatre, 961 Broxton Ave., Los Angeles
When: Thursday, July 11, 6 p.m.
“While tornado chasers voluntarily risk their lives, the terrified animals who are mercilessly bullied in rodeo arenas and forced to recreate distressing scenarios for movies have no choice,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA is calling on Universal Pictures to at least give viewers of this inhumane film the facts, which are that animals endure grievous injuries and agonizing deaths just so humans can play cowboy.”
The federal Animal Welfare Act offers no protection to animals used in rodeos, which have been denounced by every reputable animal protection group, and certain states exclude them from anti-cruelty statutes. Rodeo participants have been videotaped choking calves and twisting their necks while slamming them onto the ground, injecting bulls with steroids to induce an aggressive response to harassment, using sharp spurs to make horses buck, and zapping horses and cows with electric “hotshots” so that the animals will charge in a state of panic out of a chute.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
