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David J. Climenhaga

Chuckwagon carnage: Calgary Stampede blames the horse!

By
David J. Climenhaga
| July 14, 2012

"Autopsy shows lead horse in chuckwagon accident died of ruptured aortic aneurysm," shouts a headline in yesterday's Calgary Herald.

So… what? The Calgary Stampede's going to blame the chuckwagon crash that killed three horses Thursday night on "equine error"? Shoulda seen a vet, that dumb hoss…

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David J. Climenhaga

Big money speaks quietly to the recalcitrant 100-year-old Calgary Stampede

By
David J. Climenhaga
| July 5, 2012

Money talks, and what money is saying now, the day before the 100th opening of the Calgary Stampede, is that Canadians are turning away from animal cruelty as entertainment.

Sometimes a whisper is louder than a shout, and the big money was barely whispering on the topic of harm to animals at the Calgary Stampede, which opens for the 100th time tomorrow. But rest assured those sibilant sounds from the upper reaches of Bell Canada's corporate office in Montreal are being heard clearly in the boardroom of the Stampede Board as the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" marks its centennial.

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David J. Climenhaga

The 100th Calgary Stampede: Real men don't kill horses for fun

By
David J. Climenhaga
| May 25, 2012

There's no doubt about it: chuckwagon races are as exciting as hell. There's also no getting around the fact they’re cruel to horses.

With the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede almost upon us -- the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" marks its centennial on July 6 -- it's time once again to turn our attention a popular event that uses pointless cruelty for entertainment.

For, sure as shootin', a horse will die in a Stampede chuckwagon race this year, as horses die pointlessly every year for the entertainment of the humans who pack the Stampede grounds to witness the thundering excitement of the races.

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David J. Climenhaga

Horse dies in Stampede chuckwagon race -- no one does anything about it

By
David J. Climenhaga
| July 9, 2011

It was opening night yesterday at the Calgary Stampede: another horse died in a chuckwagon race.

So what else is new? Last year six horses died at "the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth." This year, well, it's just beginning.

Everybody in Alberta knows rodeo activities are cruel to animals. Everybody in Alberta knows chuckwagon races are dangerous for horses. Nobody in a position to do anything about it cares enough about it to do anything about it.

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