A tragedy during a rodeo event in New Jersey has an animal rights group accusing rodeo organizers of killing a horse.
TMZ.com is reporting that the animal rights group SHARK - Showing Animals Respect and Kindness - says one of its members saw a 9-year-old horse named "Duke" shocked to get him to buck more wildly just before he was released from the gate with a rider.
A video of the incident shows Buck leaving the gate and bucking assertively. The camera momentarily loses Buck and the rider but then finds them with Buck successfully tossing the rider. The camera follows the rider as he starts to exit, but then returns to Buck, who has fallen and appears to suffer a seizure.
Several staffers rush to the horse's aide, but it died on the spot and was eventually carted away.
The SHARK member shot footage of the tragedy and shows someone holding a "hot shot" electric prod in Duke's holding gate, according to TMZ.com.
The website has a still photo of what appears to be a metal device in someone's hand, asserting that to be the prod.
TMZ reported that a Cowtown Rodeo spokesperson insists Duke's death due to an "aneurysm of his aorta blood vessel."
"Our vet has assured us that this had nothing to do with the rodeo event and it is a natural (although rare) occurrence to have a horse pass from this reason," the spokesperson said.
TMZ.com contacted the Cowtown owner Grant Harris -- who also owned Duke, and he admitted that the device in holding gate appeared to be an electric prod. Harris added that personnel are instructed not to use the prod under any circumstances and the device never appears to touch Duke.
But if a prod isn't supposed to be used, then the question that follows is why the prod was present in the first place.
TMZ included a poll in the story asking whether rodeos should be banned, and 62 percent of well over 20,000 voters responded, "yes."
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