Horse euthanized after suffering injury at Cal Poly Rodeo
Cal Poly’s 81st Poly Royal Rodeo ended on a somber note this weekend when a horse suffered an injury and had to be euthanized.
The horse was injured on Saturday while participating in the rodeo finals. The rodeo is a popular attraction held during Cal Poly’s annual open house.
The horse was promptly removed from the arena and examined by an on-site veterinarian, according to Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier.
“A veterinarian determined that the animal had suffered an injury from which it could not recover, and the horse was euthanized to prevent further suffering,” Lazier wrote in an email to The Tribune.
Cal Poly did not know what injury the horse suffered from at the rodeo. According to Lazier, such information is contained in the veterinarian’s medical report, which the university has not seen yet.
The rider was not on the horse at the time of the injury, according to Lazier.
A stock company provided the horse to the rodeo, so Lazier did not know the horse’s name or age.
“It took the air out of the stadium seeing the animal writhing on the ground in pain and unable to get up,” a rodeo attendee wrote to The Tribune anonymously, asking for “a conversation about the annual rodeo at Cal Poly and what is increasingly viewed as inhumane treatment of animals.”
Rodeos face new regulations in California cities and counties
Cities and counties across California have moved to further regulate rodeos, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Last year, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors banned wild cow milking from rodeos, which is an event where a lactating cow is “tossed into a rodeo ring, and attacked by three or four men who rope her, pull her tail, wrestle her to the ground and try to hold her still while one of them grabs her teats and milks her,” L.A. Times reporter Susanne Rust wrote in her article.
The Los Angeles City Council also considered banning “certain devices used on rodeo animals — spurs, flank straps and electric prods — that can cause pain or injury,” Rust wrote.
Rodeos already must abide by certain rules and regulations in California. For example, according to penal code section 596.7, rodeos must have a licensed, on-call veterinarian ready to treat injured animals. The veterinarian must report the injury to the Veterinary Medical Board within 48 hours of the rodeo, the code said.
According to Lazier, the Cal Poly Rodeo Program follows Professional Cowboys Association’s guidelines “related to the welfare of livestock and contestants,” Lazier said.
“Cal Poly believes strongly in and places a high priority on the humane care and treatment of animals used for instruction or related purposes,” Lazier wrote in the email. “It is Cal Poly’s policy to comply with all federal, state, university, and other regulatory requirements as they relate to the acquisition, care and treatment of animals, including the regulations for rodeo equipment.”
