Tag: Animals in entertainment

• Rider, a horse who suffered a serious leg injury during the chuckwagon races, was euthanized; another tragic loss in an event that claims the lives of horses nearly every year. 
• Rider’s death marks 110 known animal fatalities at the Calgary Stampede since 1986, with 79 from the chuckwagon races alone. Last year, three horses and one steer also died during Stampede events. 
• Beyond the headline tragedies is the routine cruelty of rodeo: fear, stress, and force inflicted on animals for entertainment.  
• This year’s Stampede footage lays bare a painful truth: for the animals, rodeo is terror, not tradition. It’s time to end the suffering. 

Take action

1. Use the quick action tool to send a message to government decision-makers, urging them to remove the deadly chuckwagon races and inhumane rodeo events from the Stampede program.
2. Take the #SayNoToRodeo pledge to reflect your opposition to the use of animals in rodeo events.

Photo: Sportsnet

What happened at 2025 Calgary Stampede?

• A horse named Rider suffered a fracture to his left-front cannon bone during Heat 8 of the Saturday chuckwagon races and was euthanized.   
• Clips show the risk of injury to animals, such as a steer who was flipped over and whose neck was repeatedly twisted. Last year, a steer used in steer wrestling was euthanized due to a serious neck injury.
• Footage also shows people at risk of injury, including children.
• Animals are hit and roughly handled. In one clip, a handler uses a rope to agitate a bull’s neck while another person behind the scenes calls the bull obscene names.
• Animals show signs of fear and stress, including widened eyes, tense open mouths, excessive salivation, thrashing in chutes, panicked behaviours, and resisting handlers.

Cover photo: Sportsnet

• During a Calgary Stampede chuckwagon race on Saturday July 12, a horse named Rider suffered a leg injury and was euthanized.
• This marks the first animal death of the 2025 Calgary Stampede and brings the total known animal deaths to 110 since the VHS began tracking deaths in 1986. 
• Animal deaths happen almost every year that Stampede. The 2024 Stampede rodeo and chuckwagon races claimed the lives of four animals. Three horses died in the chuckwagon races and one steer died after their neck was broken during a wrestling event. 

TAKE ACTION: Use the quick action tools to call on government decision-makers to work with organizers to remove these inhumane and deadly animal events from the Stampede program.   

Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media

Learn more

The Stampede confirmed that a horse named Rider suffered a fracture to his left-front cannon bone during Heat 8 of the Saturday evening race and was later euthanized. 

Since the VHS began tracking fatalities in 1986, at least 110 animals have died in the Calgary Stampede’s animal events, 79 of which were in chuckwagon racing.

Despite minor changes attempting to improve the safety of the chucks over the years, horses have continued to die at an alarming rate. The VHS points to the fact that these changes, like reducing the number of horses on the track, fail to address the inherent risk factors of the sport: the close proximity of horses and wagons, the extremely fast pace, and the use of thoroughbred horses, who are typically bred for speed rather than skeletal health. 

Public approval of chuckwagon racing continues to fall in the wake of near-annual incidents and a growing awareness about animal well-being. 59% of Canadians and 54% of Calgarians disagree with the use of horses in chuckwagon races, according to a Research Co. poll commissioned by the VHS in July 2024. 

Cover photo: Sportsnet

• The 2025 Calgary Stampede will be held from July 4-13. With it comes the controversial rodeo and deadly chuckwagon races that result in animal fatalities nearly every year. 
• Last year’s events were the deadliest since 2019, with 4 animal deaths in 2024, bringing the Stampede death toll to at least 109 fatalities since the VHS began tracking in 1986. 
• Polling shows significant and growing opposition across Canada to the use of animals in rodeo and chuckwagon events, including amongst Albertans.  
• Polling also shows that removal of the rodeo and chuckwagon events from the Stampede program would have virtually no impact on attendance rates and would bring in new crowds.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Stampede organizers and government decision-makers to remove these inhumane and deadly animal events from the Stampede program.  

Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media

Learn more

Dangerous & stressful for the animals 

Rodeos and chuckwagon events are fast-paced, timed events that put animals’ safety at risk. The chuckwagon races are promoted as the “half-mile of hell” and involve teams of horses attached to wagons that are pulled at high speed and in close proximity to each other.

Beyond the risk of injury and death, animals used in rodeo events are also subjected to stress and suffering during rodeo events. Many rodeo activities, including bucking, roping, and wrestling events, use tools and methods like spurs, flank straps, and rough handling to provoke “fight or flight” responses.

These events rely on the use of fear, stress, and discomfort to make animals flee and buck. 

Near-annual deaths 

Nearly every year, there are animal deaths at the Calgary Stampede. The 2024 Stampede was the deadliest since 2019, with 4 animal fatalities during the 10-day event. 3 chuckwagon horses suffered irrecoverable injuries and a steer’s neck was broken during a wrestling event. 

At least 109 animals have lost their lives at the Stampede since 1986, when the VHS began keeping track. Most deaths occur during the chuckwagon races due to the fast pace and close proximity of the horses and wagons. 

Injuries and deaths may also be underreported, as it can take up to 48 hours after an incident for an injury to present.   

Growing public opposition  

Public polling in recent years reflects growing opposition to the use of animals in rodeo:  

• 2022 poll: Removal of the rodeo and chuckwagon events from the Stampede program would have virtually no impact on attendance rates and would bring in new crowds.  

• 2023 poll: A majority of Albertans oppose the use of animals in rodeo.

• 2024 poll: A majority of Calgarians oppose calf roping, steer wrestling, bronc riding, and chuckwagon racing. In addition to this, 67% of Calgarians oppose government funding of rodeo events. 

Cover photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media