How do bucking bulls experience Stampede? UCalgary study aims to find out
Posted Jul 6, 2023 7:14 pm.
Last Updated Jul 6, 2023 7:15 pm.
It’s Stampede season in Calgary, with cowpokes and animals gearing up for the world’s largest outdoor rodeo.
This year roughly 7,500 animals will take part in the festivities, and one of the toughest jobs belongs to bucking bulls, but how do they feel about their role in the rodeo?
Well, a University of Calgary (UCalgary) study is looking to answer that question, and it says early findings suggest a relative calmness in the bulls.
“The work that we’re doing right now is to try and understand the behavioural cues that animals are responding to, that bulls, in particular, are responding to,” said Ed Pajor, professor of animal behaviour and welfare at the UCalgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
The faculty launched the study in 2022. While last year’s research analyzed how bulls behave during events, this year’s focus is on how they respond after bucking.
“If we can understand what causes animals to leave the arena easily and perhaps take advantage of those cues or some training or some experiences, that would be better for the welfare of the animal because it’s not being forced out by pickup men on horses,” Pajor explained.
He says that research findings will potentially be used by Stampede to help improve animal welfare.
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However, Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice and an experienced animal rights lawyer, calls the efforts rodeo-washing.
“We think that the Stampede should stop trying to find a better way to do something that’s so clearly wrong and so clearly causes suffering, pain, injury and almost every year death to innocent animals,” she said.
While Pajor acknowledges such controversy, he emphasizes the importance of understanding animals’ experiences.
“Some people claim that animals love to buck and are bred to buck, and other people say that it is a very aversive thing,” Pajor said.
He says full findings from the study are expected to be released before the 2024 Stampede.
