- The VHS has once again filed a cruelty complaint with the BC SPCA after new footage from the 2025 Bulls, Broncs & Barrels rodeo event in Coombs revealed troubling treatment of animals for the second year in a row.
- This year’s footage captures potentially illegal use of electric prods on bulls; stressed and agitated animals being harshly handled; and an injury to a horse who rears up in the bucking chute and lands on the structure, resulting in a bloody wound.
TAKE ACTION: Join the VHS in calling for an end to inhumane rodeo events and to stop B.C. government funding that supports them.
Disturbing footage shows improper electric prod use, rough handling at Coombs rodeo
Footage: Suzanne Goodwin
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Repeat concerns over electric prod use
Last year’s Coombs rodeo event drew a cruelty complaint after footage showed potentially illegal electric prod use on bulls and inhumane handling of a fallen horse. Disturbingly, new footage from this year shows similar issues.
Videos show bulls being shocked with an electric prod in ways that appear to violate Canadian animal handling regulations. These regulations prohibit:
- Repeated prodding of the same animal.
- Prodding animals who cannot move due to barriers such as overcrowded pens or blocked chutes.
Footage from the 2025 event appears to show both of these rules being broken.
The device used—believed to be a Hot-Shot Power-Mite—can deliver shocks of 4,500 volts.
Stressed animals, injury, and rough handling
Additional footage from the Coombs rodeo event highlights visibly stressed animals. Clips show animals thrashing in tight chutes, rearing up, and resisting handlers.
A bull is seen laying on the ground following a bucking event and is then kicked and pulled by the tail and ropes until he rises.
Two horses rear up out of the bucking chute and crash into metal posts. One of the horses appears to sustain a wound, with bloody abrasions visible on both days of the event.
Calls for change at Ministry of Tourism
These recurring concerns underscore the urgent need for change.
The VHS has written to the B.C. Ministry of Tourism to express concerns about public funding, provided through the B.C. Fairs, Festivals and Events (BCFFE) fund, to events that include rodeos. In 2023 and 2024, $780,000+ and $680,000+ were awarded to events that include rodeo, respectively.
Another Ministry of Tourism funding program, the Destination Events Program, lists rodeos as an event eligible for funding.
Provincial government must protect animals used in rodeo
The VHS has also raised concerns with provincial decision-makers about the overall lack of protections for animals used in rodeos, pointing to previous footage of various rodeos across B.C. and to the failure to enforce animal protection laws that prohibit causing distress.
The VHS is calling for an end to inhumane rodeo events and urging B.C.’s Ministry of Tourism to exclude rodeos from publicly funded grant programs.
By investing in compassionate and inclusive community events, the province can ensure public funds are directed toward celebrations that bring people together without putting animals at risk of harm.
Public opposition to rodeo events & funding
Research Co. polling shows a growing majority of British Columbians are opposed to the use of animals in rodeo events and to taxpayer dollars being used to support rodeo events.
Take action: Help end cruel rodeo practices in B.C. by contacting the B.C. government today.