VHS is extremely sorry to hear of the death of another horse at the Calgary Stampede chuckwagon races.
It is getting harder for the public to believe that these deaths are just coincidence or bad luck. There is something inherently unsafe about the race.
Nothing the Stampede has done has stopped horses dying.
VHS is reiterating its call for the Stampede to suspend the chuckwagon race and have an independent panel of experts review the event to determine if anything can be done to make it safe.
More than 50 horses have died at the Stampede since 1986.
Vancouver Humane Society calls for event to be suspended
The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) has called for the suspension of steer-wrestling at the Calgary Stampede rodeo after an animal was badly injured in the event and had to be euthanized. Another steer died in the event during the 2009 Stampede.
“Why should animals suffer and die just to entertain a crowd,” said VHS spokesperson Peter Fricker. “If these events are so hard on the animals that it can kill them, it’s obvious they are suffering pain and stress.”
Fricker said that rules changes made by the Stampede to make steer-wrestling safe had obviously not worked. He said the event should be suspended and reviewed by an independent panel of experts to determine if it could be made humane and safe.
VHS says that steer-wrestling has no historical connection to ranching and was invented for rodeos. “It has nothing to do with agricultural heritage,” said Fricker. “It’s just a cruel and dangerous circus act.”
The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is running a full-page ad calling for a ban on calf-roping in a Calgary newspaper. The ad, shown above, appears in the July 4 edition of Fast Forward Weekly on page 3.
The ad contrasts the compassion of basic human kindness with the cruelty of calf-roping and calls on the Calgary Stampede to “have a heart for animals” and ban the rodeo event.
Some of the Chicken Runners Team after the race: From left to right: Jennifer Kelly, Miles Linklater, Leanne McConnachie, Debra Probert, Alexandra Cadman, Kaitlyn Anderson, Liberty Mulkani, Anneliese Probert, Odie Probert (asleep).
We did it! We reached (and exceeded!) our goal of $25,000 at the 2013 Scotiabank Charity Challenge!
On Sunday, June 23, 2013, VHS supporters walked or ran in support of the Vancouver Humane Society’s work on behalf of animals. To date, we have raised $25,626 from 273 sponsors of our team members. That’s amazing!
Even though we exceeded our goal, your donation will not only make a difference to an animal that needs help, but it will also improve VHS’s chances of winning an extra $5,000 Scotiabank award for the highest amount raised per runner! We won it last year, thanks to many of you, and we’re hopeful that we’re in the running again (as of now, VHS is in 4th place overall).
This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and we’re extremely grateful to everyone for such incredible support. Every single donor will receive a personalized thank you from the VHS Board of Directors and staff.
Maybe you can run (or walk) for VHS next year. Watch this space for more updates!
Rodeo promoters like the public to think that it’s just a few animal rights activists who oppose rodeos. In fact, mainstream animal welfare agencies throughout the civilized world are opposed to rodeo events like calf-roping and steer-wrestling, as these position statements show:
