Advocates gathered outside the Valley West Stampede rodeo Saturday to protest the suffering of animals used in rodeo. VHS Campaign Director Emily Pickett appeared in an interview with City News to discuss welfare concerns.
“These types of events take advantage of these animals’ fight and flight response,” Pickett said. “What we saw was things such as roughhousing of the animals, agitating animals in the chutes so they flee and buck in response.
“We think that this is something that causes a lot of suffering for these animals.”