Cuban Cowboys Caught Lassoing Cat At International Fair

By NAN STAFF WRITER

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. April 8, 2022: The Cuban Ministry of Agriculture has been forced to issue a statement after pictures of several Cuban cowboys lassoing a cat at an international fair in Havana began making the rounds globally.

In the photos, several “cowboys” are standing in an arena. One is carrying a cloth bag the others are holding ropes. A small black and white cat is then let out of the bag and the men try to lasso its neck.

After a short time, someone does and the poor cat is seen dangling in the air, as the “cowboy” laugh and cheers, surrounded by some of the other men.

The gruesome incident happened on Friday at the Fiagrop 2022 International Agricultural and Food Fair in the Cuban capital. The men are members of the Cuban national rodeo team.

The Cuban Agriculture Ministry said the men will be punished and denounced the “regrettable act of animal cruelty in front of the eyes of the spectators present.”

There will be “administrative and disciplinary sanctions” against those responsible, the statement added.

Since July 10, 2021, a new animal welfare law has been in force in Cuba. This law obliges all Cuban citizens to protect “every mammal, bird, bee, reptile, fish, crustacean and amphibian” as a living being.

See the pictures as it happened.

Cowboys try to lasso a cat at the Rancho Boyero rodeo during the Fiagrop 2022 International Agricultural Fair in Havana, on April 8, 2022. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Cowboys lasso a cat at the Rancho Boyero rodeo during the Fiagrop 2022 International Agricultural Fair in Havana, on April 8, 2022. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Cowboys walk after lassoing a cat at the Rancho Boyero rodeo during the Fiagrop 2022 International Agricultural Fair in Havana, on April 8, 2022. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)