Please write to the CBC!

CBC Sports will once again be broadcasting coverage of the Calgary Stampede rodeo, despite the fact that virtually every animal welfare agency in the world says rodeos are inhumane. If you think it’s wrong for Canada’s public broadcaster to be showing animal cruelty as entertainment, please send the letter below to Kirstine Stewart, executive vice-president of the CBC’s English services.

To:kirstine.stewart@cbc.ca

Dear Ms. Stewart,

I am writing to ask that CBC Sports discontinue its coverage of the Calgary Stampede rodeo.

Rodeo events are inhumane and have no place in a civilized society. Animals are routinely exposed to fear, pain and stress for the sake of entertainment. Virtually every animal welfare agency in the world is officially opposed to rodeo because it has been deemed to be cruel. This includes the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, the Humane Society of Canada and the national SPCAs of the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand. Even the Calgary Humane Society “fundamentally opposes” events like chuckwagon racing, calf-roping and steer-wrestling.

Assuming all these agencies are not wrong, why would the CBC, our national public broadcaster, associate itself with animal cruelty?

At the very least, the Calgary Stampede should eliminate calf-roping, as it is one of the most inhumane rodeo events. It is worth noting that CBC television coverage of this event always avoids showing the moment when the calf hits the end of the rope (as cameramen are instructed to pan back to the cowboy before this happens). If the CBC thinks it is wrong to show what really happens in this event, how can it morally justify covering it? Such hypocrisy is shameful.

The CBC likes to promote the Stampede as “Canadian culture and heritage” but even a cursory check of the historical record shows this to be false. The Stampede was invented by an American Wild West show performer in 1912, most of the current Stampede competitors are American and the entire idea of rodeo is based on the myth of the American cowboy. Most of the events have nothing to do with ranching, modern or historical – real cowboys did not ride bulls, wrestle steers or race chuckwagons. This is a circus of low-brow, sensational events, not a demonstration of ranching skills.

As a national public institution, the CBC must surely have a duty to protect and promote true Canadian culture and not to debase itself by becoming a public relations agency for the Calgary Stampede. More importantly, shouldn’t the CBC represent civilized values like compassion and kindness to animals rather than cruelty toward them?

I implore you to discuss this issue with CBC management and perhaps, collectively, the corporation might yet find itself a conscience.

Sincerely,

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459 people have taken part in this action. Please contact peter@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca if you have any difficulties or queries.

Please write to the CBC!

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