# We criticize Bulgarians for "dog spinning" aren't US rodeos just as cruel? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823 "2017-06-13T00:38:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/1 "2017-06-13T00:38:40Z")
I saw a Facebook notice to support banning "[dog spinning" youtube video link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOr8s2fZtcg&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIOr8s2fZtcg&has_verified=1). The practice is technically illegal but is still performed throughout rural areas of Bulgaria. Aren’t US rodeos just as bad in terms of cruelty to animals? [Rodeo Facts: The Case Against Rodeos](http://aldf.org/cases-campaigns/features/rodeo-facts-the-case-against-rodeos/) [Dog spinning wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_spinning) > [@](#): > > Dog spinning (Bulgarian: тричане на куче(та), trichane na kuche(ta)) is a ritual that was traditionally practiced on the first day of Lent in the village of Brodilovo in southeastern Bulgaria. It is related to similar rituals used on this day at other villages, in which the dogs were whipped or beaten. The ritual is thought to have pagan origins[1] and was performed in order to prevent rabies.[2] > In dog spinning, a dog is suspended above water on a rope. The dog is turned repeatedly in a given direction to wind the rope, or is inserted into a loop of rope that has been twisted already. The dog is then released so that it spins rapidly in the opposite direction as the rope unwinds. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/2 "2017-06-13T01:00:07Z")
Dogs have a special place in most people’s hearts and aren’t treated like other animals so there is strike one. The Bulgarian tradition is based on an ignorance and myth so there is strike two. Rodeos, especially the big ones, aren’t intentionally cruel. They are huge money for the owners and the animals themselves. I can tell you for a fact that barrel racing horses are spoiled beyond belief because they are so valuable and the owners bond extremely strongly with them. Even bull and bronco riding, sports that pits human against animal, only lasts a few seconds at a time and the rider is much more likely to get injured than the bull or bronco. Top bulls and broncs are extremely valuable as well and no one wants to see them hurt. Try to ride a bucking bull sometime and tell me that you actually “won” even if you managed to stay on the full 8 seconds which you won’t. You will lucky to still be fertile and be able to walk the next day. The only rodeo sports that I know of that can appear cruel is calf roping. However, that is a utilitarian skill used by real-life cowboys on ranches. It is just a demonstration and competition of proficiency for something that has to be done every day. If you don’t like that, don’t ever eat beef again. The calves are released very quickly and generally aren’t injured. In no case are animals beaten, hung and spun. That is strike 3. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/3 "2017-06-13T01:01:10Z")
Heck, I’ve done that kind of spinning myself, as a youth, and it was plenty of fun! U.S. Rodeos are rough, but not all that cruel. I also don’t have much opposition to non-lethal bullfighting. Animals are tough, and a good rodeo hoss gets a lot better taken care of in life than a horse in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/4 "2017-06-13T01:03:22Z")
I don’t criticize Bulgarians for dog spinning. Well I didn’t until now which is the first time I’ve ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/5 "2017-06-13T01:17:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t criticize Bulgarians for dog spinning. Well I didn’t until now which is the first time I’ve ever heard of it. This. Plus also; why? I read the wiki article and it said what the practice comprised but… why? So the dog can throw up on you? What’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/6 "2017-06-13T01:28:45Z")
What about [cat juggling?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEs6O2NGdrs) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/7 "2017-06-13T01:48:01Z")
[Here is a compilation of bull riding failures.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlbQJHTTDJg) As you can see, the bulls aren’t the ones having the problem. That is one of the only sports that I know of with a 100% serious injury rate. There is no way it isn’t going to happen if you try it for more than a few days and all you have to do is stay on for 8 seconds. That is going to be the longest 8 seconds of your life. I was in a bar contest with a mechanical bull when I was much younger. I had ridden smaller bulls growing up so I told the operator to give me medium level realism. I somehow made it all 8 seconds and won the contest but wish that I didn’t. I probably would have better off if I just hit myself in the nuts with a hammer and then thrown myself down a few flights of stairs. I couldn’t walk right for days. Those twisting forces try to snap your thighs like a wishbone while your right hand is punching yourself hard in the family jewels. Rodeos are cruel in a way but it isn’t the animals that getting the worst of it. It takes a special blend of a masochist and an animal lover to be a rodeo cowboy (or girl). ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/8 "2017-06-13T04:30:09Z")
First, you have to establish that this is a thing that we have heard of. Scratch that, establish that it’s a _thing_. I’ve never heard of it. I asked someone who lived in rural Bulgaria for a few years and she didn’t know of it either. The Wikipedia page says it’s only in 1 village. With a population of 363 people… even if every single human being in the town does it, it’s still not something that hits my radar. Sounds like more internet outrageosphere jumping on some obscurity. Might as well contact PETA to ostracize the people of Smalltown, Ohio because some 14 year old miscreants torture cats. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-criticize-bulgarians-for-dog-spinning-arent-us-rodeos-just-as-cruel/788823/9 "2017-06-13T14:21:41Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Dogs have a special place in most people’s hearts and aren’t treated like other animals so there is strike one. The Bulgarian tradition is based on an ignorance and myth so there is strike two. > > Rodeos, especially the big ones, aren’t intentionally cruel. They are huge money for the owners and the animals themselves. I can tell you for a fact that barrel racing horses are spoiled beyond belief because they are so valuable and the owners bond extremely strongly with them. Even bull and bronco riding, sports that pits human against animal, only lasts a few seconds at a time and the rider is much more likely to get injured than the bull or bronco. Top bulls and broncs are extremely valuable as well and no one wants to see them hurt. Try to ride a bucking bull sometime and tell me that you actually “won” even if you managed to stay on the full 8 seconds which you won’t. You will lucky to still be fertile and be able to walk the next day. > > The only rodeo sports that I know of that can appear cruel is calf roping. However, that is a utilitarian skill used by real-life cowboys on ranches. It is just a demonstration and competition of proficiency for something that has to be done every day. If you don’t like that, don’t ever eat beef again. The calves are released very quickly and generally aren’t injured. > > In no case are animals beaten, hung and spun. That is strike 3. Don’t bull & bronco riding require putting a strap around the animals balls to piss it off enough to start bucking? That seems pretty cruel.