MONTREAL — A four-day urban rodeo that is promising to bring a bit of the Wild West to Montreal's Old Port is also expected to draw daily protests from groups denouncing the event as animal cruelty.
The festival, which includes country music shows as well as traditional rodeo contests, aims to provide "an authentic and educational country-inspired experience," according to the city.
But it has also fuelled opposition from animal-rights activists, who say bronc riding and bull riding are cruel and stressful to animals.
Two groups plan daily protests outside the site to criticize what they call the inherent cruelty of the events.
"Rodeos put animals in very dangerous situations and use the animals' discomfort to get them to buck and run around," said Christina Vassilatos, one of the protest co-organizers.
"Animals aren't enjoying any of this."
She said the protests will be peaceful and are being organized in the memory of animals that have died during rodeos.
The Montreal SPCA also opposes the rodeo, which began Thursday and ends Sunday and is part of the city's 375th-anniversary celebrations. A petition the organization launched against the event earlier this summer has more than 26,000 signatures.
"Rodeos subject animals to fear, stress, and undue risk of injury or even death, all in the name of so-called 'entertainment,'" says a statement on the SPCA's website.
The general manager of the Festival Western de St-Tite, which is organizing the rodeo, said the animals are treated well and that a team of veterinarians will be on hand at all times to monitor their welfare.
"This is an opportunity for everyone to see our best practices and come to understand the breadth of our sporting competitions," Pascal Lefreniere said in a statement.
"As in St-Tite, animals are treated with the best protocols in force. Their well-being remains a priority for our team."
A legal challenge to stop the Montreal rodeo was dropped in June after opponents of the event reached a deal with organizers to bring in further measures to ensure the well-being of the animals.
As part of the deal, a veterinarian and a behavioural specialist will be able to examine the animals before and after each rodeo.
The agreement also mandated the creation of a committee composed of government, rodeo and animal-welfare representatives to study the impact of rodeos on animal well-being.
Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
