Vancouver Humane Society
The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is raising concerns around an incident that occurred at a rodeo held in Princeton over the weekend. A video released by the VHS shows a horse jumping over the arena barrier and landing dangerously on their head. The incident took place during a bucking event.
VANCOUVER, June 15, 2023 – The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is raising concerns around an incident that occurred at a rodeo held in Princeton over the weekend. A video released by the VHS shows a horse jumping over the arena barrier and landing dangerously on their head. The incident took place during a bucking event.
The video has also been shared with the BC SPCA.
“Rodeo events, like bareback riding, are accidents waiting to happen and that’s exactly what occurred here”, says VHS Campaign Director, Emily Pickett. “These events rely on the use of fear, discomfort and stress to make animals flee and buck. This puts them at unnecessary risk of injury and death for the sake of public entertainment.”
The VHS cites public polling that shows a majority of British Columbians are opposed to the use of animals in rodeos. The organization and concerned B.C. residents have been advocating for municipal bylaws that prohibit inhumane rodeo events and practices. The City of Vancouver and District of North Vancouver already have bylaws in place and just last month the City of Port Moody also followed suit, unanimously passing a similar bylaw.
The VHS says this recent incident at the Princeton Rodeo, along with concerning video footage taken at rodeo events in Chilliwack and Langley last year, reiterates the importance of bylaws that protect animals from inhumane treatment and suffering in rodeos.
“There are no shortage of alternative events and activities that can bring communities together to celebrate, without putting animals in harm’s way,” says Pickett.
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SOURCE Vancouver Humane Society
For more information, contact Emily Pickett: 604-416-2903, emily@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca
A recent motion to prohibit inhumane rodeo events within city limits was unanimously passed by Port Moody City Council!
The sponsor of the motion, Councillor Kyla Knowles, cited evidence of animal suffering, risk of injury, and public calls for action. She noted that “the routine rough handling of animals in rodeo events completely contradicts industry requirements and best practices for the handling of farmed animals.”
While many rodeos have been cancelled in the past decade due to public controversy and animal welfare concerns, recent activity from rodeo organizers has emphasized the need for proactive protections for animals.
Last year, a new rodeo was established in Langley Township, which has no bylaws in place prohibiting inhumane rodeo practices. The event prompted advocacy for protective bylaws across B.C.—both in communities where rodeos occur and those where rodeo activities are not yet held.
This bylaw helps to ensure that new events being introduced do not expose animals to the unnecessary fear, stress, and risk associated with rodeos.
The move to ban inhumane rodeo events including bucking, roping, wrestling, and mutton busting in Port Moody follows similar bylaws in place in the City of Vancouver and District of North Vancouver. It also aligns with public polling that indicates a majority of B.C. residents are opposed to the use of animals in rodeo events.
Could your municipality be the next community to prohibit inhumane rodeo practices? Call on your city council to protect animals used in rodeo events!
Roping, bucking, wrestling and mutton busting events at rodeos subject animals to fear, discomfort, stress and an unnecessary risk of injury, all for the sake of entertainment. Photos and videos taken at rodeos in British Columbia highlight these animal welfare issues and reiterate the need for stronger municipal bylaws.
Recent footage from B.C. rodeos reveals numerous animal welfare issues, including stressed and frightened animals being roughly handled and deliberately agitated into fleeing and bucking. Watch the video below to see how inhumane practices and tools cause animal suffering in rodeo events.
VANCOUVER, May 25, 2023 – Port Moody’s Council has unanimously voted in favour of prohibiting inhumane rodeo events, making the Lower Mainland city the third municipality in British Columbia to implement such a ban.
The motion to “prohibit inhumane rodeo events and practices including bucking, roping, wrestling, and mutton busting within city limits” was introduced by Councillor Kyla Knowles and was passed by Council at the May 9 meeting.
Councillor Knowles cited concerns that rodeo poses a risk of injury to animals and that practices are inherently cruel. She noted that at least 13 residents have written to municipal decision-makers calling for a ban in the community.
The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) congratulated the City of Port Moody for this promising step forward for animals and the community.
“We’re very grateful for the advocacy of local residents and pleased see the City of Port Moody taking the initiative to proactively ban inhumane rodeo events, which cause unnecessary harm and stress to animals,” said VHS’s Campaign Director, Emily Pickett.
“There is no shortage of other types of events that can bring the community together without putting animals at risk of injury and suffering. We hope other communities will follow Port Moody’s lead by moving away from inhumane rodeo events.”
Last year, a new rodeo was established in Langley Township, prompting the VHS to advocate for proactive bylaws prohibiting the practice in B.C. communities.
Port Moody joins the City of Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver in banning rodeo events.
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SOURCE Vancouver Humane Society
For more information, contact Emily Pickett: 604-416-2903, emily@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca
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 Cup – event on Saturday.
Reports of Lent Me Twenty’s death offer conflicting accounts. David Milburn, president of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of BC – an industry group that supports the continuation of thoroughbred horse racing – believed that the horse reared up before falling and striking her head on the ground.
One of around 30 spectators who witnessed the death, Darren Hill, said, “It just walked normal in front of me with its trainer and then as it passed me, it just dropped sideways.”
The true cause of Lent Me Twenty’s death is currently under investigation. Regardless of the outcome, it is doubtless that humans caused her death by choosing to use her as entertainment.
The selective breeding and use of animals for entertainment like horse racing always carries a risk. Sadly, that risk is not taken into account because the animals are not treated as sentient, feeling individuals. The industry requires that we see these horses as objects.
This is likely why, after Lent Me Twenty’s body was hidden beneath a tarp and carried away on a trailer, races continued throughout the day.
The tragic incident of Lent Me Twenty’s death is yet another stain on the satin shirt of this ostensibly high-society event.
The Cup markets itself as stylish and sophisticated; it invites people to dress up for a “good ol’ fashioned day at the races.” However, under the pomp and pageantry, the reality for animals is far less glamorous.
Unlike human athletes, racehorses are not given a choice of whether to participate. They are bred and raised for the purpose and forced to perform at high speeds in front of roaring crowds.
There is no choice to opt out when they are not feeling their best or conditions are not favourable. The show must go on – even on days like Saturday, in temperatures far exceeding what horses prefer to exercise in, and when a horse had just lost her life.
At the end of the race, horses have no concept of winning or losing. Dr. Stephen Peters, a neuroscientist who has worked with both humans and horses, notes that “The idea that horses love the event they compete in is something we’ve created. It’s a myth more for us than the horse.”
Unlike when horses “race” each other in a field, running around a racetrack is not a natural behaviour for horses, says certified applied animal behaviorist Dr. Sue McDonnell.
Horses do not understand the thrill of competing in events developed by, and for, humans. For animals, the thrill of play and competition can be seen when they set their own rules and are given freedom to move and behave as they please, like when a dog “chases” his guardian through the grass.
Instead, what these horses know is the stress of being carted between different loud and highly controlled environments, the bite of an uncomfortable bit in their mouth, and the pain of a whip on their flank as they run along a strictly guided path. Their so-called “careers” are short and marked by fear.
Typically, horses begin racing around two years of age. Research shows that horses who begin high-intensity activities like racing at a young age have been found to have high rates of injury, and to decline and retire quickly.
One study found that during the training and racing of two-year-old racehorses, 85% suffered at least one incident of injury or disease. Another found that of the horses that began racing at two or three years of age, only 46% were still racing two years later.
Racehorses typically retire around age four to six; but life after racing is no frolic in the pasture, either. If horses are not used for breeding or given another way to turn a profit, they run the risk of ending up at auction, where unwanted horses are sent and sold to the highest bidder.
While some horses may be bought from auction for riding or companionship, others are less fortunate and are purchased by horsemeat buyers, destined for slaughter. Auctions are a stressful and dangerous place to be an animal, and rescuers at the Squamish-based horse sanctuary, Second Chance Cheekye Ranch, have said that all horses they have rescued from this process arrive with some degree of trauma.
This display of risk and fear only exists because there is money in it. Every spectator at this year’s event at Hastings Racecourse can be part of the solution for horses by skipping next year’s event and spending a Saturday wearing a fascinator or cufflinks elsewhere.
The Government of British Columbia recently announced new funding for fairs, festivals, and events; but the inclusion of inhumane rodeo events is cause for concern.
Tell B.C.’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport that the use of taxpayer dollars to support inhumane and outdated rodeo events, which the majority of British Columbians oppose, is a step in the wrong direction.
Video footage from recent local rodeos reveals recurring welfare issues, including animals being roughly handled and deliberately agitated into fleeing and bucking.
The return of the Chilliwack rodeo this year, along with a controversial new rodeo held in Langley Township, has raised concerns about the well-being of animals made to perform in rodeo events. Video footage taken at both rodeos this summer shows stressed and frightened animals being roughly handled and deliberately agitated into fleeing and bucking.
The return of the Chilliwack rodeo this year, along with a controversial new rodeo held in Langley Township, has raised concerns about the well-being and welfare of animals made to perform in rodeo events. Video footage taken at both rodeos this summer shows stressed and frightened animals being roughly handled and deliberately agitated into fleeing and bucking.
Municipal elections are taking place in British Columbia on October 15th. The lead up to these elections is a crucial opportunity to raise your concerns with candidates running for Mayor and Council in your community about the inhumane treatment of animals in rodeo events and note it as an election issue for you.
Specifically, you may wish to ask candidates the following question:
If elected, will you support a municipal bylaw that follows the lead of other municipalities, like the City of Vancouver and District of North Vancouver, in prohibiting inhumane rodeo events and practices, such as roping, bucking, wrestling, mutton busting, and the use of flank straps and spurs? Tip: To find your local candidates, visit your municipality’s website or search for “[Your municipality’s name] local election 2022”. You can find the list of candidates in Chilliwack and Langley Township below.
| Candidate name | Email (if available) |
|---|---|
| Mayoral candidates | |
| Ian Carmichael | carmichael.for.mayor@gmail.com |
| Ken Popove (incumbent) | reelectpopoveformayor@gmail.com |
| Councillor candidates | |
| Amber Price | info@amberprice.ca |
| Brent Bowker | Brent@VoteBowker.ca |
| Bud Mercer (incumbent) | budmercer2022@gmail.com |
| Chris Kloot (incumbent) | klootchris@gmail.com |
| Craig Hill | *no public email found |
| Debora Soutar | soutar.debora49@gmail.com |
| Harv Westeringh (incumbent) | info@vote4harv.ca |
| Jared Mumford | vote@jaredmumford.com |
| Jason Lum (incumbent) | Contact form |
| Jeff Shields (incumbent) | info@jeffshields.ca |
| Mike McLatchy | Contact form |
| Nicole Huitema Read | nicolehuitemaread@gmail.com |
VANCOUVER, October 5, 2022 – The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) has released new footage from two B.C. rodeos held this summer and is raising concerns about the treatment of animals at the events.
The footage reveals recurring animal welfare issues, including stressed and frightened animals being roughly handed and deliberately agitated into “performing” for the public, at a controversial new rodeo that was held in Langley Township last month and from the Chilliwack rodeo in August.
The VHS points to clips that show calves, horses and bulls thrashing around in the chutes prior to being released into the rodeo arena. In two instances, horses in the chute can be seen stuck in unnatural and potentially dangerous positions, with one horse on their back and another with their leg stuck in the side of the chute.
Clips also show handlers pulling on the ears and tails of a number of animals; the VHS has long criticized these methods of deliberately agitating animals, which are frequently used in rodeo to goad the animal into bursting out of the chute at high speed or bucking wildly.
In a number of clips, animals that appear reluctant to move or leave the chute or arena are roughly handled. One clip shows a frightened sheep being shoved up onto their hind legs before falling onto their side. Another captures a sheep being dragged into the middle of the arena.
“The rodeo industry has long claimed that the animals used in rodeos love to perform. This footage, once again, proves otherwise,” VHS Campaign Director Emily Pickett notes. “If the animals love to perform, why is it necessary to twist their ears, drag them by their tails, and fasten uncomfortable straps around their sensitive underbelly to make them do so?”
Pickett also points out that these events put animals at risk of injury and death, all for the sake of public entertainment.
The VHS points to footage from the Chilliwack rodeo of a calf, who is being chased by a rider on horseback during a roping event, running into the arena fence at full speed; a bull repeatedly falling while being lassoed following a bucking event; and a horse who falls on their side during a bucking event and hits their head on the ground.
Another clip shows a bull fall and land on his horn, appearing to injure it. Afterward, the bull seems disoriented and is reluctant to move. Handlers proceed to pull and drag the bull by the tail, in an attempt to get the animal to leave the arena.
The VHS has been calling on organizers for both rodeos and local City Councils to remove inhumane rodeo events, including roping, bucking, wrestling and mutton busting, from the event programs.
“Recent polling from Research Co. shows that the majority of British Columbians are opposed to the use of animals in rodeos. Meanwhile, more and more communities have moved away from rodeos and toward events like fairs,” says Pickett.
With the upcoming local elections, the VHS is hoping that candidates for Mayor and Council will consider the many alternatives for bringing the community together without the use of rodeo events that cause unnecessary fear and suffering to animals for the sake of public entertainment.
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SOURCE Vancouver Humane Society
For more information, contact Emily Pickett: 604-416-2903, emily@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca
Related links:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uTUDd2ErUn_4an3Geq7biJ_BxmB4OEzr?usp=sharing