Is Showing Cattle Cruel or Educational?

4-H is a group just like the North Dakota Junior Point Show that we discussed last week, In fact many of those kids that participate in NDJPSA also participate in 4-H. What stops these groups from thriving? PETA, stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.There intentions are not completely bad, but they do not want to see educational events such as showing cattle, rodeos, or ranching continue. The full notion of PETA is to shut these events down for good. They even make a case that showing cattle is not only cruel for animals, but also for humans according to an Advocates for Agriculture article. They say that it is cruel to kill an animal that trusted you and that it is cruel for person that showed it as well. What they do not see is that these organizations not only teaches responsibility, but it shows these kids that participate in the groups where their food comes from, and that this is how the world goes round. Showing cattle is also much more than that, it is focusing on the best phenotypical traits for a specific breed, so whether it is a steer, or a weather (neutered male goat), that is being killed, it is also feeding people and this is how we survive. It is a much larger issue if you look at the big picture, but these are the some of the basic reasons PETA is against showing. What they do not realize is that when a child's animal is killed, that they worked so hard on, it does not mean it is easy on them. They put the time and sweat into working with these cattle everyday, they do not want to see them go, but they also were taught that this is how it works. All in all, PETA is a risk to groups like 4-H, FFA, and the NDJPSA, but still have no means in shutting any of these groups down.