A fifth horse has died after the conclusion of the evening's chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede.

The horse was having difficulty after the race. He received minor treatment at the time, but died within the hour.

So far at this year’s Stampede, two horses have suffered fatal heart attacks, one was euthanized after a shoulder injury and a fourth broke its back from bucking too hard.

A rider is also in hospital with a serious head injury after her horse fell on her.

A growing number of animal welfare organizations have taken the Stampede to task for what they see as cruelty masquerading as entertainment.

The League Against Cruel Sports, one of Britain’s oldest and most respected animal welfare charities has leant its support to the Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) in support for its campaign against calf-roping at the Stampede.

A group of UK MPs has signed a motion tabled in the House of Commons condemning rodeos and calling on the Canadian government to “take steps to end the immense cruelty to animals in events such as calf-roping, which is practised at rodeos including the Calgary Stampede”. So far more than 50 MPs have signed the motion.

The League Against Cruel Sports has also announced it is supporting the VHS anti-rodeo campaign. The parliamentary motion commends the League for “bringing the enormous cruelty of rodeo to the attention of the British public.”

The League is urging its supporters to write to the Canadian High Commission to express their opposition to rodeo and is asking UK travel companies to stop promoting package tours to the Calgary Stampede. “Canada is a beautiful country with so much to do, there really is no need to be abusing animals in this way for entertainment. We know from our opinion polls that British tourists vote with their feet on other animal welfare issues such as bullfighting, and we will be persuading them to do the same with the rodeo,” said a League spokesman.

Responsibletravel.com, the world’s leading travel agent for responsible holidays, has already agreed to warn tourists about the inhumane treatment of animals at the Stampede with information on its website.

VHS says the British support is a first step toward internationalizing opposition to rodeos in Canada. “Visitors to Canada just don’t know about the cruelty involved in rodeo until they’ve attended one,” said VHS spokesperson Peter Fricker. “We aim to make sure they know beforehand.”

Rodeo has been banned in Britain since 1934. The RSPCA is opposed to rodeo, as are the national SPCAs of the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

In Canada, virtually all animal welfare agencies oppose rodeo, including the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and the Humane Society of Canada.

Sources: The League Against Cruel Sports, CP