Mid Northern Rodeo Club president Noel Upton will be the pick-up rider at this weekend's rodeo, picking riders up off their bucking horses. Photo / John Stone
Protesters against animal cruelty are expected at this weekend's Mid Northern Rodeo, but rodeo organisers don't expect protests to put a dampner on the event.
Mid Northern Rodeo Club president Noel Upton said he expected the Maungatapere event to be popular, as other local events had been cancelled recently and
rodeo fans would be having "withdrawal symptoms". He said anything between 2000 and 3000 people would be a good crowd.
Animal rights activists will be among attendees, protesting outside the event. Direct Animal Action spokeswoman Kathleen Lafferty said the group would protest at 11.30am on Saturday, displaying photos of animals suffering at rodeos throughout the country.
She said the group objected to the event because animal laws didn't go far enough to protect animals from suffering in rodeos. She said the events caused animals stress, fear and suffering. The group wanted the Government to implement a nationwide ban on rodeos.
Ms Lafferty thought about 20 people from the Auckland and Whangarei areas would take part in the protest.
