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PRESS RELEASE BY THE AUSTRALIAN RODEO FEDERATION 31/08/2016
The Australian Rodeo Federation rejects the call by animal liberation organisations and RSPCA in Queensland for the Rodeo event of Rope and Tie also known as calf roping to be banned.
The validated trial of roping calves by experienced Rodeo competitors was conducted by the University of Qld in conjunction with RSPCA QLD and was facilitated by the Australian Professional Rodeo Association. This trial, conducted near Emerald in Qld, used two groups of calves with the first group conditioned to the Rodeo environment and had been used in Rope and Tie events prior to being used in the trial. The second group had not been used in the Rodeo environment and were a random sample group of calves of similar weight and breeding.
The test results indicated, that in being roped and tied, the stress level hormones did appear to increase however the trial also revealed that the unroped group when mustered into yards and moved in those yards similar to calves in a normal cattle operation for animal husbandry practices, also showed an increase in stress level hormones.
The report also clearly stated that this trial should not be viewed alone and that it should be subjected to peer review and further trials.
It is therefore clear that, and subject to further trials, calves used in Rodeo for the Rope and Tie event suffer no more stress than un roped calves handled in normal cattle operational practice.
The Rope and Tie event is an exhibition of the skill of competitors using suitably conditioned stock. These skills are used in various animal husbandry practices in Australia, North America and many South American countries.
