Bay of Plenty rodeo organisers defend the sport after Methven Rodeo horse death

Animal rights group SAFE is calling for a crackdown on rodeos, but local rodeo organisers insist animal welfare is their first priority. Photo / Getty Images

After the death of a horse at the Methven Rodeo, animal rights group SAFE has again called for the sport to be banned, but Bay of Plenty rodeo organisers have defended the sport.

SAFE's head of campaigns, Marianne Macdonald, said although details of what happened to the horse in Methven were still scarce, rodeo "inherently endangers animals and is barbaric".

"Even when animals aren't injured or killed, they are caused distress. Horses are forced into wildly bucking by tight, irritating flank straps and spurs dug into their sides. These are docile animals the rodeo cowboys rile up into performing."

Stacey Atkinson competes in the steer wrestling during last year's Rerewhakaaitu Rodeo. Photo / File

Every year in December, rodeo enthusiasts flock to the Rerewhakaaitu and Ōpōtiki rodeos and those involved with the events insist animal welfare is their number one priority.

Ōpōtiki Rodeo Association president Gerard Bradley has been involved in the event for more than 20 years and said fatalities were rare.

"You can never say never with the accident side of it, there are always possibilities, but the amount of work that goes into ensuring the animals' welfare is all-consuming these days.

"There's also the fact that all the guys running the rodeo are all local, rural people who have a fair bit of an affinity with the animals anyway.

"Arguing that it's not animal exploitation is not a sensible argument, I don't think. It is to a degree, but only as much as plenty of other human-animal interactions are, such as farming.

"Animals are farmed for slaughter, for milk production, for wool production and these animals are farmed for rodeo events. So, I'm not going to argue that it's not exploitation, but it's certainly not to the degree that the animal activist groups would like you to believe."

Bradley said, on a good year, the Ōpōtiki Rodeo attracted about 2500 spectators and provided a worthwhile economic boost for the town.

"It's an important event on the summer calendar there. It costs about $45,000 to run the rodeo and a fair chunk of that goes back into that local community.

"We acknowledge that everyone is entitled to their opinion. We've had people over the years who want to come and scrutinise or video what we're doing and we're more than happy to work with them, as long as they're not disruptive, because we've got nothing to hide."

Rerewhakaaitu Rodeo Association president Clarry Church said what happened in Methven was a shame, but it was a freak accident.

"[Animal welfare] is first on the list, it's the priority, the animals' safety always comes first. We have rules we follow and our own code of conduct. As wild animals they could get in a fight or stuck in a fence and break their leg, it's just one of those accidents and it's very unfortunate. We don't want any animals or humans getting hurt."

Church said many of the animals that end up in rodeo would have nowhere to go otherwise.

"Some of those horses, that's their last legs, if they didn't have rodeo they'd be in cat food. Instead they're being looked after and have a good lease of life. Those animals are all part of the family, nobody wants to see them being harmed."