In Rodeo events in the Philippines, thin young cows who are not even two years old are forcibly subjected to physical and psychological torture as rodeo participants jump on them, lasso them, wrangle them, and wrestle them to the ground, all in the name of sport or entertainment.

There is no point for cowboy wannabees to inflict this torture on young, generally docile cows as the Philippines is not a cattle nation. Such barbaric forms of entertainment have no place in civilized society.

Help us urge the Department of Agriculture to phase out rodeos by signing this petition.

On June 21, 2025, a video went viral of a terrified young cow desperately choosing to swim out into the ocean rather than to continue being terrorized in a rodeo event in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, young cows that are just over a year old or what they call  “yearlings” (older than a calf but not an adult cow yet) are made to suffer in various cruel rodeo wrangling and wrestling events. These events essentially showcase to a public audience baby cows being put into rings while they’re subjected to rough treatment, such as being suddenly grappled, lassoed, or wrestled to the ground.

They’re terrified and their right to be free from distress, pain and injury are clearly violated. It’s troubling to see the physical and psychological toll that such activities take on these young animals. There are claims that this is to train animal husbandry personnel on how to subdue cows for the purpose of vaccinating or treating them, but it is apparent that it is mostly for sport and entertainment, and despite PAWS’ request, the Bureau has not released official reports from show veterinarians as to how many animals and human participants are injured yearly for this ‘sport’.

PAWS calls for an immediate end to rodeo activities that involve the mistreatment of animals. It is bad enough that these animals will be slaughtered later on for their meat. We urge the Department of Agriculture to implement stricter regulations to protect the welfare of cows and other animals involved in sporting activities and in events that simply serve as a source of entertainment.

PAWS knows that it is always an uphill battle to go against long-standing practices that hurt animals. However, from decades of campaigning, we’ve seen firsthand that if enough people say “no more”, we can help turn the tide for their protection.