VHS is a respected voice on animal issues because we use research to ensure our views are factual and evidence-based. Below are VHS’s most recent opinion editorials published in the media.
![Chuckwagon racing at The Calgary Stampede](https://vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/WAM10728-chuckwagon-racing-1024x685.jpg)
The Calgary Stampede rodeo is cruel, stagnant and stuck in the past
Article originally published in the Daily Hive. “Just because something is traditional is no reason to do it, of course.” This sentiment was written by beloved children’s author Daniel Handler, more widely known by his pen name Lemony Snicket. It has also become the centre of a culture war that has taken root in Calgary over…
![](https://vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/V1-0015_055A1567-steer-riding-very-stressed-in-and-out-of-chute-mouth-open.-tail-pulling-twisting.-frame-at-2m38s-1024x580.jpg)
A stressful and fear-filled glimpse into an animal’s first rodeo
Article originally published in the Daily Hive. Bring up animal welfare to a rodeo supporter, and you’ll often hear the same set of arguments: these animals are trained. They’re used to it. They’re athletes akin to other rough sports, like football or boxing. While these arguments are easily unravelled, new footage from this year’s rodeo in Merritt kicks…
![A horse bucks a rider off during an inhumane bronc riding rodeo event](https://vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/action-animal-bronco-bucking-33251-1024x890.jpg)
Taxpayer money should NOT be funding rodeos in BC
Article originally published in the Daily Hive. What would you do if you saw someone yanking an animal’s ear, twisting their tail, shaking them by the head until they’re thrashing about in stress? Would you turn away? Speak up in protest of the cruel treatment? Call in a report? Or would you open your wallet?…
![](https://vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/racehorses-1024x683.png)
After yet another death, Vancouver should not support horse racing
Article originally published in the Daily Hive. A heartbreaking incident this weekend showed many Vancouverites that horse racing is not all fun and games. Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is once again the subject of controversy after a three-year-old horse named Lent Me Twenty tragically lost her life at The Cup – formerly known as the Deighton…
![](https://vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/jo-anne-mcarthur-chuckwagon-race-photo-blur-1024x683.png)
100 years of cruelty at the Calgary Stampede is nothing to celebrate
Article originally published in the Daily Hive. The Calgary Stampede’s 100th anniversary of chuckwagon racing is getting a lot of attention this year, with commemorations of those 100 years being splashed across the Stampede website. A book on the centennial was even published in March. The mood is downright celebratory. But here’s something no one…
![](https://vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/feedlot-1024x683.png)
New bill would silence those who shed light on animal cruelty
Article originally published in the Daily Hive. Members of Parliament may soon be voting on a federal private member’s bill that would impose hefty fines and jail time on those who expose animal cruelty and welfare issues on farms. While it’s being promoted as a measure to protect biosecurity, something far more sinister is happening…