Calgary Stampede rodeo safety to include shaded pens, heart monitors for horses

Tents are being set up to provide shade for bulls and broncs, and some chuckwagon horses are to be fitted with tiny electrocardiograms at the upcoming Calgary Stampede.

Ed Pajor (PAY'-jor) is a professor of animal behaviour and welfare in the University of Calgary's faculty of veterinary medicine. The university is working with the Stampede to study some of the animals this year.

Pajor says based on the scorching heat during the Stampede last summer, the animals could use a break. Pajor says tents will be provided to some of the bulls and broncos to see if it makes a difference. Researchers will also be checking the heart health of horses before and during chuckwagon races.

Animal rights groups have long targeted the Stampede and have called for the rodeo portion of the event to be eliminated. The Vancouver Humane Society says there were four animal deaths at the Stampede last year -- 109 since it began tracking the fatalities in 1986.

The Stampede runs July 4th to 13th.

(The image in this story has been extracted from the following link: https://www.calgarystampede.co... )