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Residents and animal advocates urge NIU trustees to press public radio on alleged rodeo abuse
Summary
Four public commenters told the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees they have documented animal abuse at unsanctioned 'steer tailing' events and urged trustees to press Northern Public Radio and local officials to investigate and report fully.
Steve Hendy, president of Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, told the Board of Trustees that Northern Public Radio has published "errant and biased" coverage of steer tailing and has not examined video evidence his group provided. "NPR should report the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," Hendy said during the public-comment period.
Mike Kapliska, an investigator with the same nonprofit, told trustees the group’s video documentation shows what he described as repeated shocking, overworking and abandonment of injured animals at unsanctioned Boone County rodeos and said those acts would violate the Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act. "Our video evidence shows illegal animal abuse that violates the Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act," Kapliska said.
Jody Whitaker and Terry Rossi, both long-term local advocates and residents, described repeated attempts to notify county officials and the university, claimed permit rules are routinely flouted, and urged the board to use its influence to encourage fuller investigative reporting and stronger local enforcement. Rossi said noise and permit loopholes have allowed multi-hour concerts and events that draw large crowds and, he alleged, create conditions that facilitate animal harm.
Board Chair Montell Gales responded to the speakers by noting that "NIU and its board does not and should not have any influence or control over the editorial decisions of its affiliate media organizations, including WNIU," and advised the commenters to take concerns directly to editors while noting the station's editorial independence.
The trustees did not take action on the specific allegations during the meeting but recorded the public comments in the official record.
