New Zealand businesses continue to dump their rodeo sponsorship

SAFE is very pleased to learn of more New Zealand businesses who have committed to removing their support for rodeo.

Animal abuse is still set to occur at rodeo events across the country this summer, but that hasn’t stopped Kiwi businesses from making a clear statement that they do not support the bullying of animals for fun. The majority of New Zealanders believe rodeos should be banned, which can cast brands in a negative light by being associated with animal cruelty in the name of so called ‘entertainment’.

In response to the growing public pressure, SAFE congratulates Envirowaste, Mobil, Mitre 10, Paper Plus, Aon Insurance and Airpark Canterbury for making the animal-friendly decision to commit to not supporting rodeo events.

After hearing from many concerned customers, Unichem also decided to join this list and remove their rodeo sponsorship. In a statement they said, “We recognise that it’s not appropriate to continue support for this specific event and thank you for sharing your concerns with us.”

It’s concerning that some businesses have found their logos are still being used on rodeo promotional material, several years after dropping their sponsorship support. This is possibly an attempt by rodeo organisers to make their brand of animal cruelty look more popular than it is.

The writing is on the wall for rodeo, and it has been for a long time, so the Rodeo Cowboys Association is now in crisis management. They’ve come up with some new suggested practices, including limiting the number of times an animal can be chased and roped. These tweaks are an admission that both steer wrestling and calf roping cause danger and distress to the animals forced into these events.

Despite these new suggested practices, it doesn’t change the fact that the social license on rodeo has expired.

It’s time for a ban on rodeo.