Finally some sense. There has been a concerted campaign in New Zealand these last few months, from groups opposed to rodeo. This worked its way through to the NZ government, but they've put a stop to the idea - rodeo will not be banned.
Phew is all I can say. Rodeo is very popular amongst the rural community in NZ. The only criticism of it from me is that it's an American affectation, rather akin to tractor pulling. NZ has its own traditional activities; eventing (horses), sheep shearing, wood chopping, fencing (of the farm fence kind, not sword fighting though some do this too), ploughing, baking, sheep herding, and so on. But some enjoy rodeo and the events are places for the often isolated rural communities to come together.
This is a classic town vs country debate that has been ongoing for decades. When Labour are in government, town is usually in ascendancy. It looks like the current NZ Labour government want to stay in power for a long time, as any ban of rodeo would have seen a widespread 'nanny state' backlash that would have been disastrous.
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