Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee has written Alberta Premier Alison Redford to request that the Calgary Stampede shut down their annual Chuckwagon races.
The Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary; the 10-day event attracts over one million visitors per year.
CBC Calgary reports Lee sent a letter to the premier on Friday criticizing the event and pointing out that, despite new safety rules introduced last year, three horses still had to be euthanized following wagon crashes. The deaths spurred animal rights groups to protest at the Stampede grounds after the incident.
"There was a time when cowboys respected their horses, instead of riding them to death just to show off for a crowd," Lee wrote. "The only way to make these races safe is to cancel them."
In chuckwagon races, teams of horses compete to pull wagons around a track the fastest.
They are the deadliest Stampede event for horses, with more than 50 dead over the last 20 years.
"It'd be easy to get off on western tradition without this bloody spectacle," Lee wrote. "Dude, it's the old west, not Ancient Rome!"
Lee and Motley Crue will play Calgary on Monday as part of their current Canadian tour.
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