Some roping and steer wrestling events would finish before the animal is brought to the ground under a proposed rodeo welfare code.

National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) chair Dr Matthew Stone says the full review is now out for public consultation, ahead of final recommendations to the minister.

“The potential for harm or injury, or distress even, at that point in the event, we think, bears some closer examination,” he says.

Stone says the review covers competition rodeo, training and jackpot events not open to the public.

He says if the proposal becomes a minimum standard, organisers would decide whether those events still work.

“It would be up to the event organisers to decide whether that event is still viable from a competitive perspective, from an entertainment perspective.”

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