Steer-tailing, “a nightmare for animals,” under Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s nose

(Beth Clifton collage)

Showing Animals Respect & Kindness puts Pritzker administration on notice to stop the cruelty & apparent corruption

GENEVA,  Illinois––“April 19,  2025 was a nightmare for animals in Ogle County,  Illinois,”  Showing Animals Respect & Kindness campaign director Jodie Wiederkehr wrote a week later to Illinois governor and would-be 2028 Democratic Party presidential nominee Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker.

The Showing Animals Respect & Kindness team,  investigating a steer-tailing contest in Rochelle,  Ogle County,  “witnessed two steers and a horse have their legs broken and multiple other crimes against animals,”  Wiederkehr recounted.

Steer tailing.  (Beth Clifton collage)

Illegal slaughter

“One steer supposedly was slaughtered and eaten,  which is also illegal,”  Wiederkehr said,  if the killing was done outside of either a state or federally inspected slaughterhouse and the meat was sold.

The real nightmare for animals in Ogle County,  however,  and every other Illinois county where steer-tailing competitions are held,  was the April 24,  2025 response of Department of State Police master sergeant Travis Irwin.

Irwin recited an allegation from Ogle County sheriff Brian VanVickle that “No one from your non-profit has come forward to file a complaint,”   and “brought up concerns previously acknowledged by the assistant Boone County state’s attorney” Karla Maville “regarding identifying suspects in drone footage videos of Hispanic males on horses,  wearing large cowboy hats at populated rodeos.”

Karla M. Maville,  Boone County state’s attorney.  (Facebook photo)

Laws could be enforced if the law was present

This would actually be not difficult at all if an animal control officer or any other member of law enforcement was present at any steer-tailing competition to immediately apprehend and identify participants flogging horses,  stripping the hair and flesh from steer’s tails [“degloving”],  failing to attend to grievously injured steers and horses,  and repeatedly running less seriously injured steers through the chutes to be chased by mounted riders and thrown down by their tails as many as ten to 20 times in a single hot afternoon.

Concluded Irwin,  after having been thoroughly briefed by both Wiederkehr and Showing Animals Respect & Kindness founder Steve Hindi about four years’ worth of alleged derelictions of duty to investigate by the Ogle County,  Boone County,  and other Illinois county sheriff’s departments,  animal control agencies,  and state’s attorneys,  “This is not currently a matter for the Illinois State Police Special Investigations Unit.”

But if alleged dereliction of duty by Illinois law enforcement agencies is “not currently a matter for the Illinois State Police Special Investigations Unit,”  whose responsibility to investigate is it?

(Beth Clifton collage)

Broken legs

“The first steer’s leg was broken around 2:05 p.m.,  and the second steer’s leg was broken around 2:50 p.m.,” detailed Wiederkehr.

“We didn’t witness any veterinary care given to these animals, nor was there any conveyance for them.  Not only is this a breach of basic humane treatment or common decency,  the lack of a conveyance for this kind of injury is a violation of the rules of the Federation of Mexican Charreria,  as well as any other rodeo-related association I can think of,  including but not limited to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,  the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association,  the International Pro Rodeo Association,  the Professional Bull Riders,  the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association,  and the National High School Rodeo Association.

“The injured steers were forced to hobble up a ramp,  back into the transport trailer they arrived on.

Jodie Wiederkehr and dog Maggie.
(Facebook photo)

No veterinarian

“Our video evidence,”  Wiederkehr added,  “shows that the horse,”  after suffering the broken leg,  “was put on a trailer without proper support or restraint.  There were Iowa license plates on both the trailer and the tow vehicle.  If this horse was in fact hauled all the way back to Iowa with such a grievous injury,  an already ugly story gets much worse.”

A day later,  Wiederkehr updated,  “Documents obtained in response to a Freedom of Information Act request,  for Ogle County records pertaining to the April 19,  2025 steer-tailing competition,  “indicate that a veterinarian named Nickolas Huerta was on site.

“A veterinary technician named Nickolas Huerta,  who works at Round Lake Animal Hospital, was the individual incorrectly reported to be a veterinarian.  A vet tech is not a veterinarian.  Huerta confirmed he was at the Rochelle steer-tailing event,  and that he is a veterinary technician,  not a veterinarian.  He also stated unequivocally that he did not treat or euthanize any animals,  and was unaware of any actual veterinarian on site,”  as required by Illinois law.

“The individual providing information about the supposed veterinarian is a woman named Aracely Meza,”  who apparently lives at the location where the Ogle County steer-tailing event was held.

Cheyenne Zobal. (SHARK photo)

Animal control officer directed traffic

Showing Animals Respect & Kindness was told that Ogle County Animal Control officer Cheyenne Zobal was “watching out for the animals at the event,”  but,  said Wiederkehr,  “we will be posting video documentation showing Ms. Zobal spending a great deal of time in her vehicle,”  also “helping to direct traffic for the event.”

Most significantly,  Wiederkehr observed that,  “There is absolutely nothing,”  in the seven pages of documentation received from Ogle County,  “about a second steer and a horse who had their legs shattered,  nor mention of three steers degloved,  or other steers having head injuries or being lamed.

“There is nothing about the lack of a conveyance,  and how all the animals with broken legs were forced to move under their own power into the transport trailers.  There is nothing about the mortally injured horse who was transported without proper support or restraints,”  apparently to Polk County,  Iowa,  “which is some 250+ miles from Rochelle,”  Wiederkehr noted.

(Beth Clifton collage)

“Not a single citation”

Showing Animals Respect & Kindness founder Steve Hindi made his own attempt on April 24,  2025 to enlighten Illinois Department of State Police master sergeant Travis Irwin.

“There hasn’t been a single cruelty citation in Ogle County despite the extensive violations of state humane laws at every one of the at least fourteen events we’ve documented at the Ritchie Road property since 2022,”  Hindi began.

“I don’t know why Sheriff Brian VanVickle has claimed that ‘no one from your non-profit has come forward to file a complaint.’  My associate Mike Kobliska and I have been to his office in Oregon, Illinois,  where we personally turned video files over to Detective Chad Gallic.  If you wish, I can supply the numerous emails I exchanged with Detective Gallic.

Watheq Bannosha. (Facebook photo)

“Numerous follow-up phone calls”

“Beyond physically going to the office and handing over evidence,  we made numerous follow-up phone calls that went nowhere.  At one point we were told the evidence was in the hands of state’s attorney Mike Rock, so we tried contacting his office.  When we spoke with state’s sttorney Mike Rock personally at a county board meeting,  he told us that the sheriff’s office hadn’t given him evidence ‘the right way,’  whatever that was supposed to mean.  He couldn’t seem to give us any more detail.”

After the Showing Animals Respect & Kindness campaign against steer-tailing contest cruelty gained some local media notice,  Hindi continued,  “For a brief period,  an animal control officer named Watheq Bannosha was assigned to the steer-tailing events.  During that time we saw some marginal improvements as Bannosha pulled animals who were unfit,  injured,  etc.

“Bannosha’s presence had the effect of putting the tailers on notice generally,  because he made at least a minimal effort.

“I acknowledged the improvements to the county,  but the next thing I knew,”  Hindi said,  “Bannosha was gone.  I spoke to him after he quit,  or was fired,  depending on who you talk to.  He did not have kind words for the county.

Ogle County dog warden Shane Box.
(Facebook photo)

Shane Box

“I tried to keep Ogle County on track with  oversight of the rodeo,”  Hindi alleged,  “only to receive a text message from chief dog warden Shane Box that he was ordered to not send anyone to the rodeo.  With any semblance of oversight halted,  conditions at the steer tailing events devolved back to the previous deplorable state.”

Concluded Hindi,  “We have now entered a fourth year of illegal animal abuse being ignored in Ogle County.  Ogle is the only county,”  Hindi mentioned,  “where not even a single citation has been written over illegal cruelty.  Four citations were written a week ago in Boone County,”  where Showing Animals Respect & Kindness has done the most drone video investigations and made the most appearances before the county board of supervisors,  “and what happened there wasn’t half as bad as what happened in Ogle.

Hindi welcomed the four Class A cruelty citations issued in Boone County to steer-tailing contest host Jose Robles as,  “A positive step for as far as it goes.  It would have been far better if citations had been issued after the August 27,  2022 event at the same location,  when our efforts began,”  Hindi said.  “So much cruelty could have been avoided.”

Steer’s tail degloved.
(Showing Animals Respect & Kindness photo)

“Statute of limitations is two years”

Hindi extended “Credit to Boone County Sheriff Scott W. Yunk for making an effort to turn his county in the right direction.

“The statute of limitations for citing animal cruelty violations is two years,”  Hindi noted.  “The most recent cases have to be dealt with first.  Then there has to be a look back to properly clean things up and let it be known there will be no more tolerance for criminal animal abuse.

“The state’s attorney’s office will also have to do its part if Boone County is to be cleaned up. Given what we’ve seen over the past three years, that’s a mighty big ‘if,’  Hindi added.

“It is deeply frustrating that we’re still fighting the same battles in the same places year after year,”  Hindi told ANIMALS 24-7.  “However, we are starting to see some progress—these events are happening less frequently,  and some counties are beginning to take action.

Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker.
(Wikipedia photo)

“We need the state to step up”

“Now,  we need the state to step up.  These events are not limited to just a few areas—they’re happening across the state and the country.  But until we can fully address the issues in the current locations,  we can’t take on more.

“We will keep advocating for the animals affected by these events,”  Hindi pledged.  “Countless animals have already suffered,  and many more will continue to be injured or killed until these events are permanently shut down.

“We will keep doing our part,  but it is time for counties and the state to fulfill their responsibilities.”

Under Illinois governor Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker,  the Illinois Department of Agriculture has been conspicuously lax about enforcing the first clause of the state animal protection law,  510 ILCS 70,  stating “No person or owner may beat, cruelly treat, torment, starve, overwork or otherwise abuse any animal,”  having taken no action whatever at the state level against steer-tailing.

(Beth Clifton collage)

Fear of offending Hispanic voters

A practice unique to charreada,  or “Mexican-style rodeo,”  along with two forms of horse-tripping,  steer-tailing in Illinois and apparently in many other states has been separated from the other eight charreada events,  to be held mostly by itself,  much as bull-riding has been separated from U.S.-style rodeo.

Pritzker,  Hindi believes,  has shied away from ordering the Illinois Department of Agriculture to enforce 510 ILCS 70 from fear of offending the Hispanic voters who are a major part of the Illinois Democratic constituency.

Beth & Merritt Clifton.
(Gene Chantos photo)

Hindi has pledged,  however,  to tie Pritzker’s indifference toward steer-tailing cruelty to Pritzker’s political tail much as he tied support of rodeo to the political tail of 2008 Republican presidential candidate and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney,  contributing to Romney’s defeat in both races.

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