It’s been a long dry spell for rodeo fans in the Lower Mainland.
The pandemic and issues in Surrey have kept the Cloverdale Rodeo under wraps for three years.
But now, Langley Township is being asked to consider a rodeo for the Labour Day long weekend and the idea is generating mixed reviews.
The proposed rodeo is planned by Valley West Stampede Society.
The event is sanctioned by Pro-Rodeo Canada and lists Rich Kitos as the committee chair, the former vice-president of the Cloverdale Rodeo Association.
He is named along with three other board members in a 2021 human rights complaint.
Kitos resigned from the Cloverdale Rodeo Board in December 2021.
The news that he wants to bring a rodeo to Langley is getting mixed reviews.
“The bull riding, the bucking events, such as the ones being proposed for this rodeo, do elicit a fear response in animals in order to provoke them to perform the behaviours (people) see in the rodeos,” Chantelle Archanbault said, Vancouver Humane Society’s communication director.
The Vancouver Humane Society will be speaking before the Township of Langley Council on Monday night.
“We’ll be presenting concerns about the welfare of these animals and the way that this rodeo doesn’t align with the values of the community,” Archanbault said.
There will be presentations to the council in favour of the rodeo as well.
Supporters are being asked to submit letters to council for Monday’s council meeting.
The proposed rodeo, if approved, will run from September 3 to 5.
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