Mount Isa Rodeo Urged to Replace Calf Roping With Remote Control Car Roping
With the future of the Mount Isa Rodeo in flux, PETA has written to administrators urging them to seize this opportunity to retool the event – and bring it back without animals!
Of course, events like the Rodeo Rock Concerts, wine tasting, boxing, and bestdressed competitions can remain, but those that cause unwilling animals to suffer –and sometimes die – should be replaced with fun, humane upgrades. For example, a mechanical bull championship could replace bull riding and hobby horses could be used in barrel racing. Instead of traumatising and crippling baby animals with calf roping, competitors could instead ride electric bikes as they attempt to lasso remote
control cars steered by their opponents!
As more people have come to understand that cows, bulls, and horses are no different in any way that matters from the animals with whom many of us share our homes, public opposition to rodeos has grown. The individuals tormented at rodeos are prey animals who experience fear when chased, tackled, and thrown to the ground. In the chute, humans rile up bulls by shocking, jabbing, and kicking them and twisting their delicate tails. They buck not to entertain humans but as a desperate attempt to escape a terrifying situation – and this vigorous bucking can cause soft tissue and joint injuries.
Violently roping calves and steers causes them extreme fear and pain. Soft tissue, bone, and windpipe injuries as well as choking are common. The imprecise nature of lassoing a moving target often results in mis-roping, causing animals as young as 4 months to fall, unnaturally contorted, resulting in neck and spinal damage. And when the animals are too old or injured to continue being exploited, they’re killed.
This year, a frantic steer tumbled over the barrier into the arena seating area while being chased by bullfighters. In 2018, Animal Liberation Queensland investigators filmed the horrific death of two animals at the event: a horse who had flipped over and broken his neck during the saddle bronc event and a steer whose broken leg was dangling while a rider remained on his back. Far more people globally have now viewed – and been disgusted by – this footage than have attended the rodeo itself.
We hope this is an opportunity to end this national disgrace for good and the Mount Isa Rodeo only returns if it is animal- and cruelty-free.
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