CALGARY—A chuckwagon driver fears the demise of his sport in the face of mounting pressure from animal rights groups and urbanites shocked at the deaths of horses at the Calgary Stampede.
Six horses died in the first nine days of the 10-day Stampede and four of them were chuckwagon horses. There were no reports of more deaths at the conclusion of the chuckwagon finals Sunday night.
“It is an unusual number,” admitted chuckwagon racer Rae Croteau Jr. of Bonnyville, Alta.
“For somebody to shut this sport down, if they shut it down right now, there’s 700 horses here who will either go to slaughter or have to find a new home because we can’t afford to keep them and feed them for the sake of keeping them. It’s a business, but we treat them like our family.”
In total, two horses died of heart attacks, three were euthanized after various injuries and the cause of death for one had yet to be determined pending a necropsy. Read More…
