Editing Calf roping (section)

==Animal welfare issues==
{{See also|Animal cruelty}}
There are concerns over the [[animal welfare|welfare]] of the calves used in professional rodeo, and the industry itself polices events closely, penalizing competitors who "jerk down" a calf with the rope or flip it over backwards.<ref name="Rules"/>  In 1994, a survey of 28 sanctioned rodeos was conducted by on-site independent veterinarians. Reviewing 33,991 animal runs, the injury rate was documented at 0.047%, or less than five-hundredths of one percent.<ref name="Bronc Riding">{{cite web|title=Rodeo Horses|url=http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=3233|website=TheHorse.com|access-date=31 July 2017}}</ref>

A study of rodeo animals in Australia found a similar injury rate. Basic injuries occurred at a rate of 0.072 percent, or one in 1405, with injuries requiring veterinary attention at 0.036 percent, or one injury in every 2810 times the animal was used, and transport, yarding and competition were all included in the study.<ref>{{cite web|title=Animal Welfare|url=http://www.prorodeo.asn.au/animals.htm|website=Professional Rodeo Riders|publisher=www.prorodeo.asn.au|access-date=January 23, 2018|archive-date=March 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320084011/http://www.prorodeo.asn.au/animals.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A later PRCA survey of 60,971 animal performances at 198 rodeo performances and 73 sections of "slack" indicated 27 animals were injured, again approximately five-hundredths of 1 percent{{spaced ndash}}0.0004.<ref name="Rules" />

[[Animal rights]] proponents claim, however, that examples of injuries caused by calf roping include paralysis from spinal cord injuries, severed tracheas, as well as broken backs, necks, and legs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Roped|url=http://www.rodeoabuse.com/roped.asp|website=www.rodeoabuse.com|publisher=Rodeo Abuse.com|access-date=31 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603140610/http://rodeoabuse.com/roped.asp|archive-date=June 3, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tie-down calf roping is not permitted in the state of Rhode Island or in the city of Baltimore.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rodeos|url=http://www.bucktherodeo.com/ords.html|website=PETA|access-date=31 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402070728/http://www.bucktherodeo.com/ords.html|archive-date=2 April 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Tie-down calf roping is also not allowed in some localities in Australia, Brazil and Canada and banned nationally in the United Kingdom, Germany and The Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|title=SHARK - Investigations and Campaigns Against Animal Abuse|url=http://www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000768|website=www.sharkonline.org|access-date=31 July 2017|language=en-gb}}</ref>

The [[ASPCA]], an animal rights organization, notes that practice sessions are often the occasion of more severe abuses than competitions.<ref>{{cite web|title=5.4 Rodeo|url=https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/rodeo|website=ASPCA|publisher=www.aspca.org|access-date=January 23, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

A 2016 study indicated that the process of calf roping, including being herded in the arena and into the roping chutes, was stressful on the animals as evidenced by eye movement when roped and increases in blood cortisol, epinephrine and nor-epinephrine. Novice calves just herded into the chutes and across the arena also demonstrated stress responses, experiencing slightly higher stress than experienced ones. However, cortisol responses did not continue for long. The researchers hypothesized that professionals at the highest level were less stressful on the animals than inexperienced ropers.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sinclair|first1=Michelle|last2=Keeley|first2=Tamara|last3=Lefebvre|first3=Anne-Cecile|last4=Phillips|first4=Clive|title=Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Calves to Marshalling and Roping in a Simulated Rodeo Event|journal=Animals|date=28 April 2016|volume=6|issue=5|pages=30|doi=10.3390/ani6050030|pmc=4880847|pmid=27136590|doi-access=free}}</ref>