page_title: Charreada
section_title: Animal welfare issues
hierarchical_section_title: Charreada / Animal welfare issues
caption_attribution_description: English: Escaramuzas Charras realizando trenza Español: Escaramuzas Charras realizando trenza
context_page_description: The charreada or charrería is a competitive event similar to rodeo and was developed from animal husbandry practices used on the haciendas of old Mexico. The sport has been described as "living history," or as an art form drawn from the demands of working life. In 2016, charrería was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
  Evolving from the traditions brought from Spain in the 16th century, the first charreadas were ranch work competitions between haciendas. The modern Charreada developed after the Mexican Revolution when charro traditions were disappearing. The competing charros often came from families with a tradition of Charreria, and teams today are often made up from extended families who have been performing for up to five generations.
  The charreada consists of nine events for men plus one for women, all of which involve horses, cattle or both. Some of the events in the charreada have been criticized by animal advocacy groups and some states have banned certain events. However, there is an absence of independent statistical data and unbiased recording of the injury rate of animals has not been undertaken.
context_section_description: Various aspects of charreada have been criticized by animal welfare groups in the United States as being inhumane. While some animal rights organizations oppose many or all aspects of both charreada and American-style rodeo, non animal welfare organizations do not oppose rodeos generally or the charreada events that are similar to those seen in US rodeo.  However, they do oppose specific charreada events, particularly steer-tailing and those that involve roping horses, which are grouped under the term "horse-tripping."
  These organizations have particular criticism for piales and mangana, the events that involve roping of horses by their legs. They claim that the horses used will often sustain injuries, including broken bones and teeth, dislocated joints, and lacerations.  The distinction claimed between Manganas, or horse-tripping, and events that rope cattle, such as calf roping, is that the high center of gravity of a horse, the longer legs and faster speed of a horse creates greater potential for injury, whereas cattle are smaller, have a low center of gravity, are slower and have sturdier limbs.   There are additional concerns that horses are underfed and overused, repeatedly roped until lame, with rope burns down to the bone.
  Horse-tripping, including forefooting, is not permitted in motion pictures monitored by the American Humane Association.  The California-based Charros Federation USA states that it has voluntarily banned horse-tripping in mainstream charros for over 15 years.  They also note, however, that the complete capture in mangana was not stopped due to a belief that there was an unreasonable danger to the horses used, but so teams from California would not be at a disadvantage when they competed in the United States, after a 1994 California law stopped the take down in mangana. Under the Federation rules, the complete capture is still permitted in Mexico.
  Nine  US states, including the southwestern border states of Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona, have banned horse-tripping as a sport, although horses may still be roped and taken to the ground when required for veterinary care, identification and branding; or essentially, reasons other than entertainment.  In 2011, the state legislatures of Oregon and Nevada considered but did not pass bills that would have stopped horse tripping,  and, in Colorado, a bill intended to ban both horse-tripping and steer-tailing also failed.
  There are also concerns about the steer tailing event, due to concerns that a steer can suffer injuries to his tail, but also his back and limbs as he rolls.  Legislation to ban steer tailing, which also is an event seen in some rodeos, was introduced in at least two states.
  Supporters of Charreda defend the sport, claiming there is little evidence to support accusations of inhumane treatment and noting that few animals are seriously injured. The Charro Federation has stated that experienced Charros know how to properly rope a horse without injuring it. The Charros Federation USA notes that fringe groups who do not follow mainstream standards give a bad name to the whole community.  Supporters point out that events sanctioned by the Federación Mexicana de Charrería (FMCH) are held in both the United States and Mexico, and they operate under rules promulgated by the Federation. They also point to successful and highly public events such the Fiesta San Antonio, where Charreada has been an integral part of the festival for more than 60 years.
  There are few hard statistics on either side of the issue.  Many charreadas are loosely organized in the USA and obtaining data is a challenge. Informal reports by organizations on both sides of the issue exist.  The American Horse Defense Fund claims that from 8 to 20 percent of horses leased for charreada in California were reported to be injured seriously enough to be "sent to slaughter" each week, and the president of the California Equine Council claimed to personally observe a circuit of 10 charreadas for which 78 horses were leased for a season's use, and only 2 were not sent to slau
caption: Skirmishes Charras making braid.
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