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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
B.C. group targeting calf roping at Stampede
Activism, research focus on animal participants
Lorraine Hjalte / Calgary Herald Chuckwagon races have been a source of controversy. (CNS CALGARY HERALD)
CALGARY -- As the Calgary Stampede prepared to open Friday to celebrate its 100th anniversary, animal rights activists again took aim at the event that describes itself as the greatest outdoor show in the world.
The Vancouver Humane Society, in an anti-calf roping ad being published Thursday in a Calgary weekly newspaper, depicted a diaper-clad baby and a young calf side by side.
Under the photos are the words "Just three months old -- Would you abuse a baby to entertain a crowd?"
The average age of a calf used in calf roping is three to four months old.
"We think we have right on our side," says Peter Fricker of the Vancouver Humane Society.
"We think it's self-evident that if you chase an animal across an arena, rope it to a sudden halt at very high speeds, pick it up and throw it to the ground it will cause fear, stress and pain. We think that's completely immoral and inappropriate for the 21st century."
The humane society is calling for a ban on calf roping at all rodeos across Canada and specifically wants the Calgary Stampede to show the way by dropping the event.
It calls calf roping the "most inhumane" of all rodeo events, saying calves are sometimes killed or injured due to the sudden physical impact of the roping.
The humane society also points out farm animals in Canada do not fall under the same legal protection pets do when it comes to cruelty laws.
Meanwhile, the humane society was claiming a coup as telecommunication giant Bell Canada is not sponsoring any rodeo events at this year's Calgary Stampede.
The Vancouver Humane Society launched an e-campaign in June 2011, urging the public to demand Bell (TSX:BCE) stop sponsoring the rodeo. The campaign included a pre-written letter that could be sent to Bell chief executive George Cope.
The society says more than 1,200 people had participated before the page was taken down last Friday when the group learned of Bell's change.
Although it is not sponsoring rodeo events, Bell is still a major sponsor of other activities around the rodeo, presenting free live entertainment at the brand-new Bell Centennial Plaza on the Stampede grounds.
After six horses died in 2010 -- two of heart attracks -- the Stampede introduced changes last year aimed at making chuckwagon races safer for both horses and competitors.
All horses are now inspected by veterinarians when the animals arrive at the Stampede and before and after every race. There is also a mandatory rest day after every four days of racing.
The number of outriders that accompany each chuckwagon as it thunders around a dirt track was also reduced to two from four to try to avoid congestion. Several riders have been seriously injured over the years.
Currently, a study by the University of Calgary is measuring the heart rates and electrical activity of chuckwagon horses. It's hoped the findings could eventually reduce the number of animal deaths.
John Walters, a rookie driver from Delbourne, Alta., is allowing his team to be part of a study.
He already knows how painful losing a horse can be.
"It's very emotional. We had one that we lost with a heart failure two hours after the race... last year," Walters said as he prepared his team for a training run. "As a family, you sit there and cry. They're family to us, right? They're our children, now that our children are grown up."
There are 100 chuckwagon horses in the study, which began a few weeks ago and has followed them through a number of chuckwagon races already.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 6, 2012 A15
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