Prospects for rodeo restrictions in San Diego dimmed Thursday when Councilmember Kent Lee got limited feedback from his colleagues on even some scaled-back versions of proposals he has been discussing this year.
The lack of enthusiasm for new restrictions appears to be a significant victory for rodeo supporters less than two months before Petco Park hosts only the second rodeo within city limits since the 1980s.
It could also be characterized as a notable defeat for animal rights activists and the San Diego Humane Society, which has been working with Lee and presented a variety of proposed restrictions Thursday.
Councilmembers Stephen Whitburn and Vivian Moreno declined to make any comments at all on the Humane Society presentation or Lee’s scaled-back proposals.
One scaled-back proposal was adopting restrictions that wouldn’t apply citywide, but only at city-owned or managed sites.
Another was only approving restrictions that the animal supplier the Padres use for the Petco event already obeys. Lee said the city would be “codifying” those practices without requiring any immediate changes.
Councilmember Joe LaCava, the committee’s fourth member, commented during the meeting but declined to offer support or specify which — if any — of Lee’s proposals he would consider.
“A lot of things on the table and I look forward to whatever language you choose to bring forward,” LaCava told Lee.
Lee, who was visibly disappointed, said at the end of Thursday’s meeting that he is not giving up.
“I appreciate the feedback that we have received,” he said. “We’ll be continuing our work with the San Diego Humane Society to ensure we actually do bring something forward and I look forward to presenting that to the public in the near future.”
Lee and the Humane Society had proposed making three events illegal: calf roping, team roping and steer wrestling.
Brian Daughtery, the Humane Society’s executive vice president, said those events are harmful to animals and make them anxious and fearful.
He led a slideshow that used phrases like “cruelty or sport” and “tradition or anachronism.”
Local tribes and other rodeo supporters say rodeos are a cultural practice long intertwined with Black, Indigenous and Mexican American communities.
Daugherty said rodeo events are bad for animals.
“It is not compassionate and it puts animals at risk and in harm’s way and we want to do everything we can to avoid that,” he said.
Daugherty also described the proposed restrictions, which stop well short of banning rodeos, as moderate.
“This is not a crazy animal rights agenda,” he said.
The public hearing was nearly split between rodeo supporters and opponents.
Supporters said rodeo is way of life, an important cultural tradition and should be allowed to continue.
Opponents said rodeos are inappropriate in an animal-friendly city like San Diego, which is famous for its zoo.
Gillian Grant of C5 — the company that supplies animals to the Petco event — said C5 has high standards.
“We have comprehensive animal welfare practices in place,” she said. “Our animals are family and treated with dignity, and we are committed to their well-being.”
The long-awaited discussion came after nearly a year of vocal debate in San Diego over whether rodeos put animals in enough danger to warrant new restrictions.
The issue emerged shortly after the Padres hosted a rodeo last January at Petco Park that sparked protests from animal rights groups, litigation and calls to ban rodeos within the city.
Lee said Thursday it’s particularly egregious that the city is profiting from the Petco Park event through hotel taxes paid by some who attend the event and through its profit-sharing deal with the Padres.
“Not only is the city of San Diego currently condoning these practices, we’re currently profiting off of them,” he said.
Lee said rodeos simply aren’t right for San Diego.
“Our city has been a national leader in animal welfare for decades, a distinction we should be proud of,” he said.
