Working to end rodeos in Aotearoa New Zealand by educating the public and exposing the cruelty.
BAN RODEO nz
IMPORTANT INFORMATION The Rodeo Code of Welfare is up for renewal, and your voice matters!
HOW YOU CAN HELP Please make a submission on the draft new regulations. The link is in the ‘Send your submission here’ ——–>
While we continue to call for a complete end to rodeo, we will also push for stronger protections for the animals involved for as long as rodeo continues.
WHY DOES RODEO NEED TO END? If you’ve ever attended a rodeo, you’ll know it’s a high-energy environment filled with loud music, cheering crowds and noise. For animals, this can be an extremely stressful experience.
Before the events even begin, animals are transported by truck from their usual environments to the rodeo venue. There, they may be held in confined areas, often with little or no shade on hot summer days, before being subjected to the noise, crowds and demands of the events themselves.
WE’VE MOVED ON FROM USING ANIMALS IN THE CIRCUS. WHY SHOULD RODEO BE ANY DIFFERENT? Like circuses once did, rodeos use animals as entertainment, with clowns also performing to engage and distract spectators.
Circuses in Aotearoa New Zealand no longer use animals. We believe rodeo is similarly outdated, unethical and increasingly at odds with our values. We believe animals should not be made to endure stress and risk for human entertainment.
HELP US MAKE YOUR SUBMISSION COUNT! Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a closer look at each event, sharing a short video from a rodeo, alongside the proposed regulatory changes.
This series will help you understand what happens to the animals and give you the information you need to make an informed submission.
If you are new to rodeo, one of the many new fans that have come in via certain TV programmes and country music, let us show you what clubs would rather you not see. Did you know many clubs banned our cameras because of multiple media exposure? Sponsors pulled out because of the obvious cruelty. Did you know that rodeo-approved photographers admitted to not showing certain photos because it makes rodeos look bad? Does real sport do that? Your kids rugby or tennis?
Sitting on the bank with a friendly crowd, with animals at quite a distance, music playing, sun shining, feeling relaxed… it’s easy to miss the finer details of what’s happening to animals in the arena. Feel free to ask questions here and look through our photos and videos to make up your own mind about whether treating animals this way for entertainment, is acceptable. We won’t whitewash the experience of the animals. We’ll show you.
While you’re at a rodeo, you could also take photos and videos like these. We’d love to see them and publish them here.
