Photo: Jordan Rivers \ We Animals Media
Last week, the Vancouver Humane Society filed a cruelty complaint to the BC SPCA regarding serious welfare issues at a rodeo event in Coombs.
- In the footage, multiple bulls are repeatedly prodded when they are unable to move freely.
- Another video shows a horse falling and being kicked in the head to make him stand up.
The Vancouver Island Western Heritage Association (VIWHA), which organizes the rodeo in Coombs, has since responded to the incident. Their response takes no accountability for the mistreatment of animals and attempts to misdirect attention from recurring issues.
Read the rodeo’s response in Chek News
Rodeo response deflects criticism despite video evidence
The response from organizers fails to take accountability for repeated use of electric prods and other welfare issues throughout the event. While the VIWHA attempts to explain away one incident of prod use on a bull, arguing that the prod use was necessary to prevent the bull from backing up into other animals, the footage shared shows multiple incidents of repeated electric prod use on animals, including:
- Repeated electric prodding of a bull who is confined in a bucking chute any time the animal attempts to lay down
- Repeated electric prodding of a bull in an alleyway, with no other animals around him and a closed gate behind him
- Repeated electric prodding of a bull whose path is blocked by another animal who is backing up into him
Shockingly, rodeo organizers also characterize the kicking of a downed horse in the head (at 03:30 and 03:25 in the video below) as a handler using his cowboy boot to “nudge the horse on the back of its neck”.
Watch the footage:
Concerning implications for animal welfare
The serious, recurring animal welfare issues seen throughout the event and the dismissive response by organizers have concerning implications. The message shows that inhumane handling is not an outlier, but is expected and accepted. This is not surprising – many rodeo events rely on the fear, stress, and discomfort of animals to “perform” – but it is deeply disappointing.
Rodeo events like this continue to cause animal suffering across British Columbia as the provincial government has put no meaningful plan in place to protect animals used in rodeo. Instead, the Ministry of Tourism funds the operation of many rodeo events, with more than $680,000 going toward events that include rodeos this year.
Can you call on the B.C. government to stop funding rodeos and to take urgent action to protect animals before next year’s rodeo season?