Entertainment or cruelty? Stampede officials talk animal care ahead of rodeo, chuckwagon events

Posted June 24, 2025 4:38 pm.
In just over a week the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth will be taking over Calgary for 10 days, and with that comes the controversial rodeo and chuckwagon races.
Calgary Stampede officials spoke about animal care on Tuesday and a continued partnership with the University of Calgary’s College of Veterinary Medicine to gather data to address the ongoing safety of the animals performing in the rodeo and chuckwagon races.
Some of the methods for testing include a horse harness to record ECG, which assesses the animal’s heart activity, and a bowling ball device or surface tester that measures impact, depth and stiffness of the surface, and how much energy returns back to the horse.
Both groups maintain that the highest standards of care are maintained for the animals involved in the events with a team of veterinarians in place around the clock, and that continued research helps continue to improve that care.
The Stampede’s director of Agriculture and Western Events, Kristina Barnes, acknowledges it hasn’t been perfect, but says they’re constantly learning and improving.
“This is an ongoing initiative for us, to continually improve all of our programming,” she says. “We want the animals and the owners to be safe, to have a great experience when they’re here, and that’s why we continue to build and improve on what we do year over year.”
Despite that rhetoric, Chantel Archambault with the Vancouver Humane Society says 109 animals have died at the Calgary Stampede since they started keeping track of fatalities in 1986.
“That’s just the deaths that we know of,” says Archambault, who is urging people to skip the rodeo and races this year.
“I would really question what is entertaining about seeing animals suffers,” she says. “These animals are not only facing fear and stress inherently in these events, but a risk to their lives.”
Last year, the non-profit also pushed for people to avoid the rodeo events, even commissioning advertisements on several billboards in the city that said rodeo animals aren’t performers and they are suffering.
Four animals died during last year’s Stampede.
“Last year it did turn out to be the deadliest event since 2019,” says Archambault.
Three horses were euthanized after sustaining injuries during the chuckwagon races. A steer was also euthanized after being injured during steer wrestling.
Dr. Ed Pajor is a professor of animal welfare at the University of Calgary and says the biggest factor for animals last year was the heat.
“We’ll have a number of different sensors in place looking at temperatures and humidity index,” he says. “We’ll also be looking at the animals themselves, using infrared thermography.”
Changes were proposed to the chuckwagon races in 2020 after six horses died the previous year during the 2019 Calgary Stampede. The changes included going from four wagons to three, and lane delineation so that wagons on the inside can escape should they be pressured.
The Calgary Stampede runs from July 4 to 13.
With files from Phoenix Phillips