This document discusses ethics and unethical behavior in youth livestock shows. It provides statistics on cheating, stealing, and lying among middle and high school students. It also presents several news headlines about cheating scandals at livestock shows, such as pig grooming, steer drugging, and injection of fluids to alter animal appearance. The document emphasizes that youth must make conscientious efforts to develop strong moral character and commitment to ethical decision-making and conduct. Unethical behaviors at livestock shows include using drugs on animals, misrepresenting ages, altering appearances, and interfering with judges.

1. A Question of Ethics!

2. Can we have Blue Ribbon Youth and
Blue Ribbon Projects?
▪Yes, with a lot of hard work and commitment to
do what is Right!
▪We must always keep our focus on the right
thing! – Youth

3. Cheating
▪Cheated during a school test at least once:
- Middle School - 54%
- High School - 70%
▪ At least once, refused to cheat even though
others were cheating: 73%
Students who have:

4. Stealing
▪Stolen something from a store at least once:
- Middle School - 31%
- High School - 47%
▪Stolen something from a parent at least once:
- Middle School - 24%
- High School - 31%
▪Stolen something from a friend at least once:
- Middle School - 23%
- High School - 25%
Students who have:

5. Lying
▪Lied to a parent at least once:
- Middle School - 88%
-High School - 92%
▪Lied to a teacher at least once:
- Middle School - 70%
-High School - 82%
Students who have:

6. EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!
▪335th Judicial District Court Action - June 1,
1999 – The “win at any cost” attitude has resulted
in probated sentences for two Aqua Dulce
residents involved in a scheme to show a pig in
San Angelo that had been “sifted” from the
Houston Livestock Show.
NEWS HEADLINES

7. EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!
▪“4-H Club Advisor Indicted in Steer Tampering
Case” – Circleville, Ohio (1995) – Ohio
Department of Agriculture Investigators said urine
tests on the fair’s grand champion and reserve
grand champion steers revealed they had been
treated with chlorpromazine, an oral tranquilizer.
NEWS HEADLINES

8. EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!
▪“Livestock Shows Plagued by Cheating” - The
Wall Street Journal, Texas Journal (1996) – Until
the recent commotion, Matthew Stork’s father
never thought that occasionally injecting Lasix
into a pig was cheating. But Matthew confesses
he sometimes felt a little quilty about taking the
easy way out, knowing that the other kids had
worked hard to slim down their pigs.
NEWS HEADLINES

9. EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!
▪“In Animal Husbandry Contests, Cheating
Spreads” - San Antonio Express News (1996) –
Since the 1980's, the soaring amounts in winners’
purses - which can range from several thousand
dollars to $500,000 - have given rise to many
ways to cheat: from dye jobs to cosmetic surgery,
from hiring professional groomers to injection of
vegetable oil or saline solution for smoothing out
flabby skin.
NEWS HEADLINES

10. Learning by Example
▪Youth do not automatically develop good
moral character; therefore, conscientious efforts
must be made to help young people develop the
values and abilities necessary for moral decision
making and conduct.

11. Ethics
▪Standards of duty and virtue that indicate how
we should behave.

12. Two Aspects for Ethics
▪Ability to discern right from wrong, good from
evil and propriety from impropriety.
▪Commitment to do what is right, regardless of
temptations and pressures to do otherwise.

13. Character is ethics in actions.
▪Knowing the difference between right and
wrong and always trying to do what is right.
▪Doing the right thing for the right reason.

14. What is Considered Unethical
Behavior at Livestock Shows?
▪Use of illegal drugs
▪Violation of ownership requirements
▪Phenotypically alter the appearance of an
animal
▪Misrepresenting the age of an animal
▪Use of tranquilizers, sedatives, or depressants
▪Injection or insertion of foreign materials

15. What is Considered Unethical
Behavior at Livestock Shows?
▪Use of inhumane fitting, showing, and/or
hauling practices
▪Interference with the judge and/or show
officials
▪Violation of any rule governing the livestock
show

16. Ethics is Critically Important to OUR
4-H Youth Development Program
Ethics Should be Critically Important to YOU!