The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo’s executive committee voted unanimously last week to cancel the 2021 Show scheduled for Jan. 15 through Feb. 6.
Event leadership says, “The challenges we face to create practical and enforceable protocols and procedures to comply with COVID-19 guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are extremely daunting.”
More than 30,000 animals are typically exhibited, in addition to approximately 2,300 participants in the competitions and exhibitions. Daily Stock Show attendance can exceed 140,000 people that crowd into buildings at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. Consultations with infectious disease professionals and public health professionals indicate the Stock Show would rank as a “very high risk” for spread of COVID-19, potentially impacting populations and healthcare systems.
In a statement, organizers say, “We feel a responsibility to be proactive.”
The only other time a Stock Show was canceled was 1943, near the height of World War II.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)