Steer Wrestling Incident
We are saddened to report that during today’s rodeo, a steer sustained a severe injury that was untreatable and as a result was humanely euthanized.
The steer failed to rise after his event and the cowboy competitor immediately called for assistance, and three veterinarians who were in the arena rushed to assess.
Upon assessment, the veterinarians determined the steer’s severe neck injury was untreatable, so they humanely euthanized the steer. A post-mortem will not be performed, as the veterinarians believe the injuries were self-evident and do not require further investigation.
The run appeared to be normal; however the Calgary Stampede and independent livestock specialists will be reviewing the event video to determine any contributing factors.
Recent rule changes by the Calgary Stampede include a “dog fall” rule, preventing a cowboy from continuing to wrestle a steer that has splayed its legs and cannot fall safety.
This does not appear to have been in the case in this situation.
This is a rare occurrence - over the past decade more than 1000 steers have competed in this event, with one other steer fatally injured.
For more information please contact:
Bonni Clark
Communications Advisor
Calgary Stampede
C 403.837.3663
T 403.261.0196
bclark@calgarystampede.com
http://news.calgarystampede.com/News...t/default.aspx