Urban rodeo to go ahead in Montreal after opponents drop legal challenge

MONTREAL — A controversial urban rodeo will go ahead in Montreal after the withdrawal of a legal challenge aimed at stopping the event.

Law professor Alain Roy says the group opposing the rodeo has dropped its request for an injunction after reaching an agreement with the organizers.

As part of the deal, a veterinarian and a behavioural specialist will be able to examine the animals before and after each rodeo.

A committee composed of government, rodeo and animal-welfare representatives will also be formed to study the impact of rodeos on animal well-being.

Roy and a group of Universite de Montreal students filed the injunction request last month, arguing rodeos are cruel and cause injuries to animals.

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The rodeo is scheduled to take place Aug. 24-27 in Montreal’s Old Port as part of the city’s 375th-anniversary celebrations.

Roy says he would prefer the event not take place, but he is satisfied with the outcome of the legal action.

“The injunction request is an instrument that allows the advancement of the cause of animals, not an end in itself,” he said.

“We put the debate out in the public, we forced the actors in the rodeo world to sit down with animal-rights activists and, eventually, the government, to document the file and adjust practices, conforming to the law,” he added.

The general manager of the Festival Western de St-Tite, which is organizing the rodeo, said it is unfortunate organizers had to contend with legal action. 

“We have always maintained we do things in a way that is professional, respectful to the law and, above all, to the animals,” Pascal Lafreniere said in a statement.

“I deplore that this injunction request may have cast a doubt on the quality of our work and our organization.”

The Montreal SPCA says it continues to oppose the rodeo and is urging citizens to call for its cancellation.

The Canadian Press