Rodeo regulation bill gets a ride after “freak accident”

BOSTON (SHNS) - After eight bulls escaped from a rodeo event in North Attleboro last year, a southeastern Massachusetts lawmaker wants to regulate the events which he says have very little oversight in the state. "We had a freak accident that was caused due to a loose pin, it was really an act of God, and you probably heard about this on the news, it reached all the way to international news, when eight bulls escaped and the bulls made their way down a busy road," Rep. Adam Scanlon of North Attleboro said, testifying on his bill (H 139) before the Joint Committee on Agriculture on Tuesday. The incident — which was covered by The New York Times, USA Today and CBS News — left neighbors in suspense for more than 30 hours, as one of the bulls remained on the loose, running on local roads and through backyards. "It is thanks to first responders as well as the professional wranglers of a different rodeo operation, New England Rodeo of Norton, that there were no damages person or property," Scanlon said. "We in North Attleboro are very thankful to the operators of New England Rodeo, who are supportive of this bill, who jumped into action when the bulls were running loose, and whose wranglers were immediately helpful in getting the bulls under control." The bill would require all rodeos in Massachusetts to comply with the rules and regulations established by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association. The bill defines a rodeo as any competition or exhibition where people compete or showcase skills associated with "traditional cowboy activities" including, bull riding, bronc riding and calf roping. Scanlon said Massachusetts has almost no regulatory oversight of rodeos, which makes it an outlier among New England states. "Many states rely on these standards in their legal treatment of rodeos... as they ensure the safety of their participants, their audience, and the wider public, and they ensure the animals are well taken care of," he said.