Calgary – During the steer wrestling event at this afternoon’s rodeo, a steer sustained a severe injury that was untreatable and as a result was humanely euthanized.
The accident took place in what appeared to be a normal run. The steer had some difficulty in standing after the event and veterinarians overseeing the event rushed to assess the situation. Upon assessment, the veterinarians determined the animal’s injury was untreatable and therefore the steer needed to be humanely euthanized.
“You never want to see something like this,” says the steer wrestler, Casey Martin. “I run horned cattle on my ranch and I throw them down often to do medical and field doctoring. When I realized this steer was injured I held him still to prevent any further injury.”
The Calgary Stampede will undertake a thorough review to determine if there were any contributing factors to this incident that could have been prevented. A post-mortem will not be performed, as the Official Stampede Veterinarian has determined the injuries were self-evident and do not require further investigation. This is a rare occurrence - over the past decade more than 1000 steers have competed in this event, with two other steers fatally injured.
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 safely. This does not appear to have been in the case in this situation.
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For more information, please contact:
Bonni Clark
C 403.837.3663
E bclark@calgarystampede.com
