Bull breaks leg before being euthanised in 'appalling' incident at Martinborough rodeo

Sunday, 4 February 2018

Video footage from Friday's rodeo event at Martinborough.

Activist groups are renewing calls for a total ban on rodeos in New Zealand after a bull was killed at one on Friday.

The incident happened when a bull's leg broke at the Parklee Bullride rodeo in Martinborough on Friday night, forcing organisers to euthanise the animal on-site.

Animal rescue service HUHA reported that after breaking its leg in the ring, the bull 'lay there for almost 10 minutes bellowing and salivating. The staff couldn't get him up so they brought in some of the other bulls to encourage him'. It then managed to drag itself out of the ring before being euthanised, the organisation claimed.

A bull at a rodeo on Friday broke its leg and had to be euthanised at the event.

HUHA co-founder Carolyn Press-McKenzie said a witness who attended the event 'saw the whole thing' and reported the incident.

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President of the New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association Lyal Cocks said it was a 'freak accident'.

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HUHA co-founder Carolyn Press-McKenzie said it was 'a pretty heinous situation'.

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'Our take on it is it's sad seeing any animal put in that situation or to suffer that amount of pain and ultimately die for the sake of entertainment,' she said.

'To suffer pain and to die—it's just a pretty heinous situation.'

Direct Animal Action spokesman Apollo Taito said a witness also approached a member of his organisation.

'It actually highlights the lie that cowboys say that animals aren't hurt in rodeos,' he said.

'There have been witnesses for deaths previously, 2014 in Christchurch a bull broke its back, and up at Mohaka in 2016, there was two deaths there, one horse who tore her hoof off in Te Anau and also a bull that snapped its leg in half in Richmond in Nelson.

'The animals are distressed and most of the time they are in a lot of pain that we don't see. This is the more severe end when animals are hurt or killed.'

Taito was optimistic the new Labour-led government would enact a ban on rodeos.

Spokeswoman for animal rights organisation SAFE, Mandy Carter, said these types of incidents often happened 'behind the scenes'.

'But when you consider why it happens at all, this is something that goes on for basically some grown men to dress up as cowboys and go and have fun on a Saturday afternoon. There really is no justification.'

Carter said her view was shared by most New Zealanders, and the number of people actively involved in rodeo were 'very much a minority'.

'We're hopeful given promises made previously by Labour and the Greens that there may be some restrictions on certain rodeo events or even certain events banned altogether such as calf-roping. We're really hoping to see some progress in this area soon, it's gone on too long.'

President of the New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association Lyal Cocks said it was a 'freak accident'.

'It is very regrettable, it doesn't happen very often, it's very unusual in rodeo and the process to deal with the situation was followed but we are carrying out an internal inquiry to make sure best practice was followed.'

It is understood the SPCA is investigating the incident, however the organisation did not return calls for comment.

'Very disappointing for the owners, the competitors and the spectators, because we all love animals very much and the animals are a key part of the sport,' Cocks said.

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