Anti-rodeo activists ‘bullied’
Save Animals From Exploitation (SAFE) has registered its “disgust” at the behaviour it says was dished out to critics at last weekend’s the Mid Northern rodeo in Whanga¯rei.
Anti-rodeo activists had staged a peaceful protest outside the event, head of campaigns Marianne Macdonald said, while others bought tickets so they could video animal abuse. Both groups had been met with aggressive, bullying behaviour.
The behaviour of supporters said a lot about the culture of rodeo, she added.
“Vigilantes in the crowd took it upon themselves to confront, in the most appalling way, people who were peacefully filming,” Ms Macdonald said.
“Rodeo organisers deny that they bully animals, yet the spectators believe they can take it upon themselves to physically assault others in attendance, just like the cowboys’ assault animals in the rodeo arena.”
The Mid Northern rodeo had in the past received a warning from the Ministry for Primary Industries for breaching animal welfare law, and legal action was also proceeding against an animal handler at the same event for alleged illegal use of an electric prod on calves.
“Filming and cameras have been banned at many rodeo events,” she added.
“The organisers claim that that content can be taken out of context and used to show rodeo in a bad light. However, they can’t get away from the fact that the context is rodeo, and the content is animal abuse.
“Just last week we learned that a second animal had been killed at the Gisborne rodeo, a fact that the Rodeo Cowboys’ Association kept very quiet, even after the public learned that a bull had been killed.
“The Mid Northern rodeo, in particular, has a history of illegal treatment of animals, and without video footage captured by activists the public will never know when animals are abused or killed.
“The public has had enough of the disgraceful display of human dominance over animals at rodeos. It is urgent that the government steps in and bans rodeo cruelty immediately.”
Meanwhile the organisers were disappointed with the weekend’s crowd, the smallest in recent years, and the actions of some protesters who they said did not heed warnings not to film with high-definition cameras.
Police confirmed they had been called to the grounds on Saturday, but no arrests had been made. Most of the protesters stood at the main gates with message placards.
Mid Northern Rodeo member Dianna Bradshaw said no animals had been injured over the two days, but club president Noel Upton ended up in Whangarei Hospital with six broken ribs after his supposedly wellmannered mount bucked unexpectedly as he was helping clear the main arena of bulls.
"The Mid Northern rodeo, in particular, has a history of illegal treatment of animals, and without video footage captured by activists the public will never know when animals are abused or killed."
Marianne Macdonald
SAFE head of campaigns
By Roberta Murray
You can achieve anything you set your mind to. I was a single mum, raising two kids. My goal was for them both to go boarding school, and they did. I saw the nuclear families around me, and what they could offer their children, which made me determined to do the same, and that’s probably what drove me.
The family and people around you are so important. Family is not just about blood. It comes in all different forms, shapes and sizes.
One of my proudest accomplishments was going to uni and being the first person in my family to get a degree at 38 years old. I beat my son by one year. I was pushed by those people around me, who saw my potential and what I was capable of. Now I have just spent a year teaching in Rarotonga, and I am about to go back.
I’m experiencing something I want others to experience, especially teachers. Go and teach there, and you’ll realise we moan about some petty things.
I want people to know there is a whole world out there. You can go to another place, like Raro, and it’s an experience. There’s life outside Kaitaia and the Far North. It’s okay to go away for a while, because things aren’t going to fall apart if you leave. I think that’s what some people believe.
I thought I was the glue for everybody, and that things would break down without me. But they didn’t, and I realised they’re all surviving fine without me.