DeKalb County sheriff investigating alleged animal abuse at Kirkland rodeo

KIRKLAND – DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Sullivan said this week that his office is investigating allegations of animal cruelty at a rodeo-style event in July held on private property in Kirkland.

Sullivan said his office has an “open and ongoing investigation” of a rodeo-style event held in the northern DeKalb County village.

The event also was at the center of allegations brought before the DeKalb County Board on Aug. 21. An Elburn-based animal rights activist, Steve Hindi, alleged that the event involved steer tailing, which is an event where a person grabs a steer by its tail in an attempt to knock the animal over.

“There have been videos ... that we have received from that event that are indicative that there may have been animal abuse and neglect that happened at this event,” Sullivan said.

Steer tailing is banned in parts of the U.S.

Hindi’s activism has taken him around northern Illinois advocating for an end to animal cruelty.

He founded Elburn-based animal rights nonprofit SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness). SHARK successfully petitioned the Boone County Board in December 2023 to ban steer tailing at rodeos, Northern Public Radio reported.

Hindi was cited in an emergency petition for a restraining order filed by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office in September 2023. In the court filing, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Toni Renken alleged that the Horseman Association Club of North of Joliet Illinois was abusing animals, citing video provided to authorities by Hindi allegedly depicting animal abuse at a rodeo venue known as La Herradura De Joliet, 18225 Briggs St., Joliet.

Hindi alleged that he has similar video footage from the village of Kirkland event that he shared with DeKalb County authorities.

More than 50 people were likely in attendance for the Kirkland event, which was held July 27, Sullivan said.

Hindi appeared before the DeKalb County Board on Aug. 21 to allege the abuse, and he also shared his concerns with the sheriff’s office. He said he and other members of the nonprofit organization have attended events at which they’ve witnessed what they believe is animal abuse, and they hoped to inform the public of what’s happening.

“We’ve been putting a lot of pressure on the counties, making them aware of what’s going on, animals used as many as 15 or 20 times in a day, animals that are injured and receive no veterinary care. In addition to the abuse to the animals, these are very raucous events, where people get sloppy drunk. At the last event we were at, there were shots fired,” Hindi said.

Hindi has sought to stop similar events elsewhere in northern Illinois and said he doesn’t want them to be come commonplace in DeKalb County.

“When I see somebody beating up a horse or when shots are being fired, or this kind of thing, I don’t care who’s doing it, I have a real concern. We have a concern. So I’d just like to get a little direction so that what’s happened in Boone County doesn’t happen here,” Hindi said in introducing himself to Sullivan.

Six days after meeting with Hindi, Sullivan said, no charges have been brought against organizers of the Kirkland rodeo. He said the organizers did receive county approval via a permit to host the event.

That doesn’t mean charges won’t be brought in the future, however, Sullivan said.

“When anyone has a special event on their property they have to get a special-use permit to hold that event, and at the time when this was first initially applied for, I didn’t have any concerns because I didn’t know, obviously, what was taking place,” Sullivan said. “But then, after the fact, of course, when certain things come to light, then yeah, it certainly needs to be looked at at a deeper level.”