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Animal rights activists are calling on the Manitoba Stampede and Exhibition in Morris, Man., to face charges of animal cruelty after a cow died during the event.

On Sunday afternoon, Stampede organizers confirmed that a cow had died as a result of an accident in a cattle herding competition on Saturday. Organizers say the cow was spooked during the event, bolted and hit a fence, injuring itself in the process. Organizers say the cow had to be put down.

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“Sometimes it happens – the cow just jumped up on the gate and the way it landed, it hurt itself bad enough that it actually had to be euthanized,” said Darcy Brown, a board member of the Manitoba Stampede Association, adding he has never seen an animal killed in the Stampede in over 10 years.

“We aren’t stressing out animals, it’s no different from how (ranchers) herd them to the feed trough, just quicker.”

For the protestors from the Manitoba Animal Save activist group, the Stampede’s explanation is not good enough.

A group of about 15 activists had been protesting the Manitoba Stampede over the weekend. The group waved signs on Friday across from the main entrance calling for stampedes to be banned in Manitoba, claiming the events are outdated and cause unnecessary violence against the animals.

“It’s obvious violence against animals, but it’s become normalized in our society and it’s celebrated even though deep down, we know it’s nothing to be celebrated,” said protest co-organizer Cheryl Sobie. “We understand that (stampedes) are a place where communities come together and that’s great, but it shouldn’t revolve around animal violence.”