(Recent incidents) December 9, 2001/Las Vegas, Nev.: At the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, a "bucking horse" flipped over and broke his back. The horse was removed from the arena and had to be euthanized. An article in Extra! magazine stated, "[T]he TV audience had no clue about what happened: The camera cut just before the horse flipped over, and none of the announcers said one word about the incident." November 7, 2001/Edmonton, Canada: A 27-year-old man fell into a coma after he was repeatedly stomped, trampled, and rammed by a bull he was riding at the Canadian Finals Rodeo. The bull continued to attack him as he lay unconscious on the ground. The man had been blinded in one eye two years earlier when the horn of a bull he was riding slammed into his face, shattering it from jawbone to forehead. November 7, 2001/Beauregard, Ala.: A 19-year-old man died after being trampled and kicked by a bull during a bull-riding event on a private farm. July 2, 2001 / Salinas, Calif.: A horse had to be euthanized after falling and breaking a leg during a racing event at the California Rodeo Salinas. May 1, 2001 / Rockford, Ill.: A bull who escaped from a farm that trains animals for rodeos was found roaming around a soccer field where children were playing. Police fatally shot the bull. The county animal control agency had cited the bull's "owner" for previous escapes. April 27, 2001 / Gonzales, La.: A 22-year-old man died after being trampled by a bull he was riding in a rodeo at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. January 22, 2001 / Millville, Ohio: A 16-year-old was killed while riding a bull when he lost his grip and was struck in the head by one of the bull's horns. The boy was preparing for a local weekly rodeo bull-riding event. December 9, 2000 / Las Vegas, Nev.: A calf was removed from a National Finals Rodeo calf-roping event on a stretcher after being roped around the neck and thrown to the ground. November 4, 2000 / San Francisco, Calif.: A bull broke his neck at the Grand National Rodeo after crashing into the metal base of a "teeter-totter" being ridden by four cowboys. July 2000 /Rainier, Canada: A 29-year-old man was killed when a bull he was riding at the Medicine Hat Stampede stepped on him. May 1, 2000: A bull escaped from a bull-riding contest in Spokane, Wash., and ran down the Interstate before being hit by a car. Although he was shot at by police, the bull disappeared into the woods before being recaptured three days later. March 24, 2000 /Albuquerque, N.M.: A 30-year-old man was thrown and then stomped on by the bull he was riding at an Albuquerque rodeo. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of massive internal injuries. The man's brother had sustained traumatic head injuries that led to a coma after being thrown from a bull during a rodeo in Idaho, several years before. February 4, 2000: A horse snapped his spine during a bareback bronco-riding event at the San Antonio rodeo. Paralyzed, the horse dragged himself by his front legs across the stadium before collapsing. The horse was euthanized. Rodeo officials said that this incident and "a couple of calves with fractured legs [at last year's rodeo]" were "freak accidents." August 9, 1999: A horse was killed when he slammed into a fence during a bucking event at the Can-Am rodeo in Ottawa. Spectators watched the horse go into death shudders after breaking his neck. August 6, 1999: A horse was killed during the bucking-bronco event at the Santa Barbara Fiesta rodeo. This marked the 10th known animal death at a California rodeo since 1995. July 23, 1999: A bull was shot and killed by police after breaking free of a rodeo outside of Columbus, Ohio. July 22, 1999: A bull being used in a rodeo in Ford City, Pa., had an "anxiety attack" and jumped an 8-foot fence to escape. July 9, 1999: A horse was killed during the chuckwagon event at the Calgary Stampede after crashing on the "half mile of hell" event. June 21, 1999: Police fired 40 shots at a bull who escaped an illegal rodeo in Long Island City; it took 15 minutes for the animal to bleed to death. June 5, 1999: Three horses escaped serious injury after falling at a full run at a rodeo in Santa Maria, Calif. One was able to walk away, but two were limping as they left the arena. January 25, 1999: A bull escaped from his pen at a rodeo in Ft. Worth, Texas, tearing through the concourse, bumping into several people, and knocking over a beer stand before being roped by cowboys on horseback. A spokesperson said, "The bull was just as shaken up as the people." January 16, 1999: A horse being used in the bronc-riding event at the National Western Stock Show crashed into a wall headfirst, breaking his neck. In a second incident during the same rodeo, a horse being used in the saddle-bronc event was bucking so hard that he broke his back and was euthanized. June 2, 1998: During a "dash for cash" contest during a rodeo fundraiser for the Connecticut Make-A-Wish Foundation, a steer was tackled and thrown to the ground. His neck was broken. Organizers of the rodeo called in a clown to distract the stricken audience. The steer died, and the Make-A-Wish foundation later announced it would no longer be associated with rodeo. March 2, 1998: One steer died and two calves were injured at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The steer suffered a broken neck during the steer-wrestling competition, and the calves suffered broken legs during the calf-roping events. July 15, 1997: A bull being ridden in the bucking event at the Calgary Stampede kicked so high that his leg became wedged in the chute gate. His leg was completely fractured above his fetlock, exposing the bone. The bull was euthanized. April 24, 1997: A horse being used in a bucking event fell and died at a rodeo at Cal Poly University in California. The announcer told the crowd that the horse was "OK," and it was only after word spread that it was revealed that the horse had actually suffered fatal injuries. September 30, 1996: A horse died of a broken neck at the Pomona, Calif., rodeo after crashing into another horse. July 11, 1996: Three horses were killed during the chuckwagon event at the Calgary Stampede. Two horses died instantly and the third was later euthanized after crashing on the "half-mile of hell" event. April 18, 1996: A Laramie County Community College rodeo coach was charged with cruelty to animals after four rodeo steers froze to death in Wyoming. February 12, 1996: A bronco crashed headlong into a heavy metal gate and died at the Anaheim, Calif., rodeo. Spectators reported that wranglers were "prodding the horses and hyping them up." The rodeo foreman admitted that his staff used 4-foot-long wooden prods to keep the handlers out of kicking range. August 8, 1995: A horse was killed with a gunshot to his head after he was gored by a bull at a rodeo in Santa Barbara, Calif. July 23,1995: A horse ran full speed into a fence and died, another horse broke his leg, and a calf snapped his back. The latter two were both euthanized. Since records started being kept in 1983, 11 other animals have died at the California rodeo in Salinas. Five animals in all paid with their lives at this specific rodeo

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