Horse euthanized following chuckwagon race at Calgary Stampede

A horse was euthanized Friday night after it got hurt during the seventh heat of the chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede.

The Stampede issued a statement Saturday morning, saying that after the horse, which was a part of Kris Molle's team, sustained an injury, "Medical care was immediately dispatched.

"Following assessment, the veterinarian made the humane decision to euthanize the horse."

It was the second death of a horse at the chucks since the Stampede changed the format to three-team heats in order to make them safer.

In 2019, six horses died during Stampede, which the Vancouver Humane Society described as a "national disgrace."

Animal rights activist Heather Anderson was part of a group of protests across the street from the Stampede who unveiled a banner that said, "Rodeo kills."

When asked her reaction to a horse being euthanized, Anderson said, "I was actually quite surprised we hadn't had one until last night.

"There seems to always be a death," she added. "If not one we know of, then one behind the scenes that we don't know of, the ones that die of dehydration and stuff, but - (I'm) horrified and sad, all of the above."

Anderson said she would rather the Stampede focus on music and western heritage rather than rodeo.

"We don't need rodeo," she said. "We don't need calf-roping. I think it's time for this stuff to stop."

Last year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) asked Stampede Parade Marshal Kevin Costner to "step away" from his cermonial role with the Stampede due to controversy over animal deaths.

Kevin Costner will lead the 2022 Calgary Stampede Parade as its marshal. (supplied)

"Year after year, this reckless rodeo runs gentle horses to death,'' senior vice-president Lisa Lange said in a release. "PETA is calling on Kevin Costner to cut ties with the Calgary Stampede before it costs more animals' lives.''

Costner remained as Stampede parade marshal.