21 OCTOBER 2016 | MEDIA RELEASE

Animal rights advocates issue stark warning on rodeo cruelty

Rodeo season starts on the 22 of October with two events in the South Island over the weekend. Animal rights advocate SAFE is urging the government to follow public opinion and make this season the last.

SAFE is drawing attention to the fact that animal cruelty for the sake of entertainment is not something the majority of Kiwis want. In a recent poll carried out by Horizon Research, two thirds of people agreed that rodeo causes suffering.

“Public opinion on rodeo is clear: people know it causes pain and suffering. It is not part of our culture to bully young animals in events like calf roping, or to distress animals into bucking with flank straps, just for ‘entertainment,’ says SAFE campaigns officer Marianne Macdonald.

“The few people competing in, and organising, rodeo need to know their days of doing so are numbered.”

Every season video evidence is sent to the government showing rodeo breaches animal welfare regulations, most recently as part of the evidence to support a petition of more than 62,000 signatures asking for a ban. The Primary Production Committee is still considering the request for a ban. The video footage provided to them can be viewed here.

“The regulations covering rodeo are weak yet, despite this, every time people check whether they are being adhered to they find proof they are not. We do not see how rodeo will be able to continue, when it is repeatedly shown it cannot even meet the minimum animal welfare requirements the government asks for,” added Ms Macdonald.

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