We have been spared a film that would have glorified this inherently violent industry, which encourages adults and children to harm animals for fun and inflicts lethal injuries on bulls for entertainment.
Steer roping...
In May we asked you to join us in calling on Disney to cancel
production on a live-action film based on the book Aloha Rodeo,
which follows three Hawaiian cowboys who in 1908 traveled to Wyoming
to compete in a steer roping competition at what is still one of the
most brutal and deadly rodeos in the world. Your response was
overwhelming, and we are thrilled to announce that Disney has
confirmed to us that this project has been canceled.
The activity at the center of Aloha Rodeo is steer roping. This
event can result in serious injuries and deaths. In fact, it’s
considered so cruel and dangerous that it's been banned in several
states.
In canceling production on this film, Disney has made the right
decision. As a result, we have been spared a film that would have
glorified this inherently violent industry, which encourages adults
and children to harm animals for fun and inflicts lethal injuries on
bulls for entertainment.
As many of us realize, Disney has an enormous influence over our
culture, and it has the potential to do immense good. It would be
impossible to overstate the positive impact for animals that films
such as Bambi and Black Beauty have had on our society. This
decision to cancel the Aloha Rodeo project is another milestone in
Disney’s history of animal advocacy.
Over 13,000 compassionate In Defense of Animals supporters signed
our alert to Disney… and it worked! We are very grateful for your
actions on behalf of the steers and horses who would have suffered
tremendous cruelty to make this film and the animals who would have
been harmed for decades longer as a result of the legacy of the
film.
Back in February, when we heard that Disney+ was moving forward with a movie glorifying cruel rodeos, we formed a coalition, released a video, created a petition and reached out to Disney to stop it. We are very pleased to announced that that effort has been a success, and Disney+ has cancelled the project!
The movie, Aloha Rodeo, would have glorified steer roping and the
Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD) which has long held the dubious
honor of being the world’s most cruel and deadly rodeo. In fact,
last week a horse was seriously injured and most likely killed at
the CFD rodeo. That story is next.
We want to thank all of our coalition partners and all of you who
signed the petition and took action!
Coalition members: