Photo: Sportsnet
As this year’s Calgary Stampede wraps up, it leaves behind another devastating loss. Rider, a horse gravely injured during the chuckwagon races, was euthanized. His death adds to the long, painful legacy of animal fatalities at the Calgary Stampede.
Since 1986, at least 110 animals are known to have died in connection with the Stampede, 79 of them in chuckwagon races alone. Just last year, three horses and a steer lost their lives.
But the suffering goes beyond the fatal incidents. Behind the scenes, animals used in rodeo face constant fear, stress, and physical coercion—all for the sake of public entertainment.
Footage from this year’s event exposes a grim reality: for the animals, the rodeo and chuckwagon races are not a celebration. They are a source of fear, force, and fatalities.
What you can do
- Speak up: Use the quick action tool to tell government leaders that enough is enough. Urge them to remove the dangerous chuckwagon races and all cruel rodeo events from the Stampede lineup.
- Sign the #SayNoToRodeo pledge: Show your opposition to the use of animals in rodeo and chuckwagon performances.
Take action
Call on Stampede officials and government decision-makers to end the inhumane rodeo and deadly chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede. Below are two quick actions you can take to reflect your support for a kinder Calgary Stampede!
Stress & suffering at the 2025 Calgary Stampede
- A horse named Rider suffered a fracture to his left-front cannon bone during Heat 8 of the Saturday chuckwagon races and was euthanized.
- Clips show the risk of injury to animals, such as a steer who was flipped over and whose neck was repeatedly twisted. Last year, a steer used in steer wrestling was euthanized due to a serious neck injury.
- Footage also shows people at risk of injury, including children.
- Animals are hit and roughly handled. In one clip, a handler uses a rope to agitate a bull’s neck while another person behind the scenes calls the bull obscene names.
- Animals show signs of fear and stress, including widened eyes, tense open mouths, excessive salivation, thrashing in chutes, panicked behaviours, and resisting handlers.
Content warning: The following footage shows a fatal incident and animals showing signs of stress and fear.
