The award-winning documentary short "Bucking Tradition” is released and now available for free viewing on multiple channels.

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, USA, March 3, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Sila Productions, LLC and Oakland-based Action for Animals are proud to announce the release of the award-winning documentary short, "Bucking Tradition," to the public for free viewing. The film is available on YouTube and at www.buckingtradition.com, where viewers can not only watch the film but also watch a series of other educational videos which expose the realities of rodeo for the animals forced to participate.

The film took home the Grand Prize for Best Overall Film as well as the award for Best Animal Welfare Film at the International Vegan Film Festival in October of 2019. It then went on to win Best Documentary at the Flicks4Change Festival in Los Angeles one month later. The film also received the “Special Mention” award at the Los Angeles One-Reeler Short Film Competition in July of 2019.

International Vegan Film Festival judge Jim Amos said of the film, “We often cringe in horror at the animal cruelty we see inflicted in the name of “sport” around the world such as those committed in the bullfighting ring but are blind to the blatant abuse of animals right in our own backyard on the rodeo circuit. "Bucking Tradition" did a masterful job at depicting the often-irreparable injuries suffered by bulls and calves at hundreds of these events across the country every year, all in the name of carrying on one of the last remaining traditions of the American West.”

Concise in its argument and featuring expert testimony, “Bucking Tradition” exposes the fact that most rodeo events feature some kind of inherent inhumane treatment of animals. “No one is suggesting that the competitors or livestock contractors involved in rodeo are deliberately abusing the animals,” says director Sharon Boeckle. “But the competitions themselves have a negative impact on the animals’ emotional and physical welfare.”

Dairy & beef veterinarian Jim Reynolds says, “All animals in rodeos are sentient, meaning they have feelings, they have emotions. That is, in fact, why they are used for rodeo. The calf in the rodeo event would not run if it wasn’t afraid. It runs because it’s afraid for its life.” Chris Berry, Senior Staff Attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, concurs, saying that rodeos “involve tapping into the prey instincts of cows and other animals in order to entertain crowds of spectators, and there’s no way to do that humanely.”

Many supporters of rodeo assert that rodeo competitions are deeply rooted in the American West’s ranching history. But the interview subjects in “Bucking Tradition” dispute that claim. “I’ve never understood why rodeo people keep repeating that ranching and rodeo are the same,” observes Dr. Peggy Larson, who as a veterinarian also works as an Animal Cruelty Investigator. “Ranchers don’t treat their calves that way. Ranchers do not make their horses buck. I never saw any of my ranch clients ride a bull. Ever. So ranching and rodeo are two very different occupations.”

Rodeo supporters often point to common injuries in other “sports,” saying that an expectation of zero injury in any sport is unrealistic. But Reynolds is quick to address that as a false comparison: “You know, football players get injured. They chose to do this. These animals don’t get a choice. Sometimes the rodeo supporters say, well… if you don’t like rodeo you don’t buy a ticket. That’s fine but the animals don’t have a choice in this.”

The filmmakers behind "Bucking Tradition" are now in pre-production on a feature documentary which explores the subject in greater depth. For more information on how you can help see the feature to completion, email the filmmaking team at info@silaproductions.com. To watch the film and learn more about the plight of rodeo animals, visit the film's website and follow Action for Animals-Oakland on Facebook.

Sharon Boeckle
Sila Productions, LLC
+1 407-720-9810
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