Is Cheyenne Frontier Days’ video ban meant to prevent brutal footage like this?

“Rodeo Bucks Video,” an article in today’s Denver Post, notes that Cheyenne Frontier Days, which takes place in July, has nixed the use of all video devices, even cellphones, allegedly because “the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association owns all video rights.” However, Steve Hindi, a spokesman for Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, or SHARK, an Illinois-based organization, claims the real motivation is to prevent clips showing grotesque animal injuries from popping up on YouTube.

Check out exhibit A above — a SHARKonline production built around footage from a 2007 Frontier Days event in which a calf’s back appears to be snapped during what the video’s narrator refers to as a “jerkdown.” To put it mildly, the video, which can be viewed by clicking above, isn’t an advertisement for family fun.