Petition greets rodeo season opening

A petition has been created by animal welfare organisations to ban rodeos. Photo / File

The long weekend marked the beginning of the rodeo season, with animal welfare agencies again calling for a permanent ban on the sport.

The SPCA has teamed up with animal welfare organisations SAFE and Farmwatch to petition for a total ban on rodeos, claiming they are contradictory to the Animal Welfare Act.

The Animal Welfare Act requires that animals are not subjected to unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress and SAFE argues that rodeos cause animals to suffer for entertainment, being both unreasonable and unnecessary.

But New Zealand rodeo champion Clarry Church, the Rerewhakaaitu Rodeo Association president, said the animals involved in the association's annual Boxing Day rodeo were treated as "part of the family". He challenged the petition.

"These people don't know what they're talking about. I bet they haven't even been to a rodeo. I bet they're all vegetarian hypocrites. What do they feed their cats and dogs? Yeah, exactly."

With more than 80 New Zealand rodeo titles in his family, Mr Church said they were experienced in the sport and only used animals that were bred for rodeo riding. Mr Church said the Rerewhakaaitu Rodeo Association was one of 35 rodeos affiliated with the New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association which was governed by an animal welfare code of conduct.

"We have a vet check the stock prior to the rodeo and any underweight stock or stock that's not up to standard get vetted out. We also have an SPCA officer and a vet on site through the whole day," he said. "More humans get hurt than animals, so this claim is really disheartening."

Rotorua vegetarian and animal rights activist Kate Fielding said she fully supported the petition.

"A rodeo is basically baby animals getting abused by grown men. If I was a farmer on the side of the road doing this kind of thing to animals, I'd be prosecuted. Yet, with rodeos, people pay to take their families along and watch the abuse.

"We need to change society's view around this. Slavery and public beheadings were once acceptable until someone stood up and said they were wrong. That's what needs to happen with rodeos."