Protesters delay opening chuckwagon races at Stampede
Posted Jul 5, 2014 7:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was two versus 16,000 at the chuckwagon races on the opening night of the 102nd Stampede.
Two protesters chained themselves around the neck to the inner track rail before the races Friday night, delaying the event for about 30 minutes.
The activists are two women from Vancouver and are a part of the the Vancouver Animal Defense League.
The pair dressed in western garb to blend in during the moments leading up to the protest.
The women apparently had rehearsed their actions beforehand, multiple times, and were holding signs during their protest that read “blood sport” and “no more dead horses.”
The chuckwagon races, a Stampede hallmark, are denounced by animal rights activists who say it causes horses to suffer.
60 horses have died at the Stampede since the 80s.
Stampede officials responded to the incident, raising a black tarp for privacy as they negotiated with the activists.
The chains were cut off around 8:15p.m. and the women were handed over to police.
The races then proceeded as normal, as Stampede spokesman says there were two people didn’t want the race to go ahead, “and 16,000 who did.”
The video of the protest can be found here.
