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Speak out against Warwick Rodeo cruelty

The reality of rodeos

Queensland's animal cruelty laws failed to protect a bull at Warwick Rodeo. His suffering is yet another tragic example of the pointless cruelty of rodeo events, where stressed and traumatised animals are forced to behave 'wildly'.

Speak out against Warwick Rodeo cruelty

This last weekend, legal protection and human decency were nowhere to be seen when a bull named Buckle Up was forced to drag his badly injured leg around the arena at Warwick Rodeo.

The shocking treatment of this injured bull — which involved multiple breaches of Queensland law — highlights once again the inherent cruelty of rodeo events. Animals Australia investigators caught this tragic incident on camera:

[Warning - graphic footage]

Buckle Up severely injured his leg only seconds into a bull riding event. But instead of being sedated or euthanased immediately, he was forced to suffer for a further thirty minutes while attempts were made to move him out of the ring.

Warwick Rodeo is one of the biggest rodeos in Australia but organisers had absolutely no capacity to deal humanely with this injured animal. They must be held fully accountable for prolonging the suffering of Buckle Up and failing in their duty of care.

Queensland has the most lax rodeo laws in Australia and yet the highest number of rodeo events. In this state there is no requirement for a vet to be present at rodeos nor for injury records to be kept. Without investigators at these events, these appalling incidents would go unnoticed and unreported.

What happened to Buckle Up is no isolated incident. Only last month a steer broke his leg at the Mt Carbine Rodeo and was dragged from the arena rather than being euthanased.

In 2012, why did this bull suffer in the name of 'entertainment'?

If you live in Queensland, take action below against this cruelty. Tell your local state MP what happened at Warwick Rodeo and what you think about it.

If you are in NSW, VIC, SA, WA, NT, or TAS, you can stand up against rodeo cruelty here.

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