RSPCA WA is urging South West communities to think twice before attending upcoming rodeos that include calf roping – a practice most Australians want banned for good.
Rodeos are scheduled for Brunswick Junction (22 November), Capel (10 January), and Beerfarm in Metricup (28 February – 1 March) drawing crowds for what is billed as family fun. However, according to RSPCA Australia Senior Scientific Officer Dr Di Evans, the excitement can mask serious animal-welfare concerns.
"Calf roping is one of the most distressing events – young calves, sometimes only four months old, are chased, lassoed around the neck, jerked off their feet and forced to the ground for entertainment," Dr Evans said.
"Research by the University of Sydney shows these calves exhibit signs of fear and stress during the event – bellowing, escape attempts, tail swishing and the whites of their eyes showing. At least the humans choose to be there; the animals do not."
Calf roping will feature at the Brunswick Junction rodeo. The event details for the Capel and Metricup rodeos are yet to be confirmed.
"Rodeos are often promoted as reflecting rural Australian life, but chasing and roping calves is not consistent with modern farming practices of calm, low-stress handling," Dr Evans said.
"We need to teach our children compassion and respect for animals, not encourage them to cheer young animals being chased and choked."
Recent polling* shows 62 per cent of West Australians who live outside of Perth are concerned about the animal-welfare impacts of calf roping while 60 per cent want the barbaric practice scrapped for good.
Calf roping remains legal in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Tasmania, but is effectively banned in South Australia and Victoria due to minimum weight requirements for cattle. All rodeo events are banned in the ACT.
Dr Evans said the RSPCA is calling for a nation-wide ban on calf roping and urges businesses to disassociate from events that profit from animal suffering.
"People can help by not attending rodeos that include calf roping and by letting organisers and sponsors know that causing unnecessary harm is no longer acceptable in modern Australia."
*2023 polling was commissioned by the RSPCA and conducted independently among a representative sample of 1500 Australians in February 2023.
