Former US rodeo rider turned vet calls for ban of calf rope and tie practice

February 9, 2018

Dr Peggy Larson is in New Zealand as rodeo season is underway.

With the rodeo season in full swing across New Zealand a former US rodeo rider is calling for a ban on the practice of calf rope and tie.

"I don't dislike rodeo people, I was one once. My concern is for animals because they have no voice," says Dr Peggy Larson.

Dr Larson was a bronco rider and now she's a vet with decades of experience, and not your typical animal activist – she's not a townie and she eats meat.

She believes spurs and flank straps can be painful but her biggest concern is calf rope and tie.

"As fell rope stops they have at least 250 pounds pulling against his neck," she says.

But New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association president Lyal Cocks defends the practice.

"The suffering is minimal ... there might be odd accident same as you get in any sport involving animals," he says.

He says there's "misleading" and "untrue" information circulating about rodeos and says video footage is altered to "denigrate” rodeo.

"I just wish to convince activists to have some sort of understanding rather than black and white."

All the animals get vet checks and when it gets too rough the competitor gets disqualified.

Dr Larson managed to buy a ticket and go into the Lawrence Rodeo.

"I was happy to see couple calves let go because they were too stressed. They let a horse go that was too stressed and I thought that was was something really positive.”

But she still says rope and tie is unacceptable.

"I saw some of these calves roped at least twice, possibly three times today. I can't look at a calf roping event without thinking at the science behind the damage that's being done to that calf's neck."

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