Kudos to writer of the Dec. 4 letter "Speak up against cruelty of rodeo."

Countless animals have paid with their lives to satisfy people's desire to play cowboy. Cattle are zapped with electric hotshots so they'll charge out of the chute, calves have their necks twisted as they are violently slammed into the ground, and horses are viciously spurred into bucking. Animals have suffered broken backs and necks, heart attacks and aneurysms.

Those who manage to make it through unscathed are given little time to rest or recuperate. They are loaded into trucks, hauled to the next event, and forced to participate over and over again. "Retirement" is a one way trip to the slaughterhouse.

Rodeos belong in history books.

O'Connor is a senior writer for the PETA Foundation.