A study published recently in the journal Animals has concluded that the rodeo event known as calf roping is cruel, terrifying, and stressful for the animals involved, and should no longer be considered an acceptable competitive sporting event or form of entertainment.
Co-author and RSPCA Australia senior scientific officer Di Evans, said the study provided further evidence that the practice of calf roping was arguably rodeos’ worst animal welfare issue.
“We know that calf roping causes unnecessary and unjustifiable suffering to the animals involved. It includes injury risks such as damage to the windpipe from the lasso, bruising and broken ribs from being violently yanked off their feet and being forced to the ground, and choking from the tightened rope around their neck and being dragged along the ground,” she said.
Believed to have evolved as a competitive sport, when the horses previously used on USA ranches to capture calves for procedures like castration or dehorning were replaced by motor vehicles, the practice is now increasingly regarded as cruel.
Described by veterinarian and a former president of RSPCA Victoria Hugh Wirth, as ‘horizontal hanging’, and by ethicist Bernard Rollin as ‘problematic animal use’, Evans said the video footage used in the study clearly showed roping was distressing and frightening for the calves.
“They’re confronted with strange sights, loud noises, are separated from other calves, and literally then run for their life as they’re chased by a rider on a horse. An animal’s behavioural and emotional state is a crucial part of good animal welfare, so it’s vital to consider this as well as their physical state,” she said.
With some rodeo calf roping competitions using individual calves up to three times in a day, and with few standards limiting the use of animals used in rodeo schools within defined periods of time in most jurisdictions, the study concluded greater protection under animal welfare legislation was necessary for rodeo calves.
“The study gives further proof that calf roping cannot be justified in 21st century Australia, and subjecting animals to such cruelty is completely out of step with community expectations. It’s no wonder 67 per cent of Australians are concerned about the welfare of animals in rodeos, according to research conducted in 2022,” Evans said.
The RSPCA is calling on all state and territory governments to put a stop to calf roping, and urges businesses to also take a stand by refusing to support rodeos, especially those that include calf roping events.
Although the practice is legal in Queensland, NSW, NT, Tasmania and WA, calf roping is effectively banned in SA and Victoria because of a minimum body weight of 200kg for cattle. Rodeo events are banned in the ACT.
‘Behaviours expressed by rodeo calves during different phases of roping’ is available at doi.org/10.3390/ani13030343.
Anne Layton-Bennett