The Coalition Government is under pressure on many fronts, including from animal lovers. Pre-election promises to ban certain aspects of rodeo - flankstraps, the use of animals under 12 months (so, calf roping and calf riding), electric-shocking, tail-twisting and rope-burning - have not been honoured.
Nineteen months ago, the New Zealand Animal Law Association released a report at Parliament showing that rodeo is already illegal and breaches the Animal Welfare Act 1999 by causing unreasonable and unnecessary pain and distress.
A legal opinion ought not to have been needed. That it was, speaks volumes about our emperor's-new-clothes animal welfare standards.
Successive governments have turned a blind eye to what was already obvious to any right-minded person - that rodeos are cruel and rely upon inducing fear, pain and panic in animals to create feigned "wild'' and out-of-control behaviour.
The rule of law is non-negotiable and must be upheld. The Government does not need to ban rodeos as you cannot ban what is already illegal - it merely needs to uphold the law and stop rodeos immediately.
All politicians, wherever they may be on the political spectrum are required to uphold the rule of law, so each and every politician is culpable for the suffering and death that rodeos cause.
It is generally thought that it is Winston Peters and NZ First that is blocking meaningful action on rodeos, tainting the Government with support for cruelty and law-breaking, though Damien O'Connor, Labour's Minister for Agriculture, has also defended rodeos on various occasions, thereby also supporting law-breaking.
No group in the community, including political parties should be able to bypass the law.
It seems that politically no thought has gone into the consequences for New Zealand's meat and dairy exports when overseas markets discover we brutalise animals for fun. There will be no point crying over spilt milk when they do - farmers will only have themselves to blame.
The chair of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, said, in a meeting with Anti Rodeo Action NZ representatives that decisions on rodeo were political.
This should not be the position of a National Animal Welfare Advisory. Most of us imagined such an advisory would take a position on animal welfare, but it apparently this is not the case.
It should not be so difficult to get politicians to do the right thing.
Regardless of whether or not you support rodeos, they breach the Animal Welfare Act and that must inform all politicians of what needs to be done.
The season of violence against animals started last weekend at Winchester and Methven rodeos. Last season a horse broke his neck in the arena at the first weekend of the season at Methven.
A panicking horse smashed headlong into a post upon leaving the arena at the Gisborne rodeo on the same day a bull snapped a leg while bucking and slamming his considerable weight through his hind legs.
The season finished with another horse death in the arena at national finals when an animal, bucking blind (an indication of distress) smashed into a post.
Four deaths. None of them accidents, all of them induced during illegal activity.
The death toll is only one part of the unreasonable and unnecessary cruelty for entertainment - panic, fear and pain are experienced by all animals who are slammed to the ground by a rope around their neck, who have their necks twisted 180 degrees, who are induced to overextend during bucking and contorting their bodies, who are spurred in the shoulders and neck and sides, who are so fearful they run into fencing and posts without realising.
Rodeo is not a sport.
No sport deliberately induces mayhem and panic in animals. Rodeo is violence. It is against animals.
Action on rodeo is long overdue. What's it going to take?
- Lynn Charlton is the spokeswoman for Anti Rodeo Action NZ.
