Cloverdale Rodeo stops most egregious events after calf dies on Saturday
VANCOUVER, May 23 - - At a media conference yesterday morning, the
Cloverdale Rodeo announced that the calf-roping, or tie-down roping event,
along with the steer-wrestling, team-roping and wild cow milking events will
cease to exist at future Cloverdale rodeos. City of Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts
was also in attendance and expressed council's support of the move.
The Cloverdale Rodeo has been under increasing pressure from animal
protectionists ever since a steer died in the steer-wrestling event in 2004
and a Vancouver Humane Society photographer caught it on film and released it
to the public.
"I don't think this was an easy decision to make, and on behalf of the
Vancouver Humane Society, I'd like to commend those involved," states the
Projects and Communications Director, Peter Fricker. "I think this decision
shows that the Cloverdale Rodeo is admitting what VHS, and the rest of the
humane community, has been saying for over 20 years - that these events are
explicit animal cruelty and there's no place for them in a progressive
society."
The City of Vancouver recently prohibited rodeos within the city at the
request of the Vancouver Humane Society. "We are seeing a clear trend against
rodeo cruelty and we hope it spreads throughout B.C. and across the country,"
said Fricker.
