Prince Harry Should Feel 'Embarrassed' for Visiting 'Wretched' Rodeo—PETA

Prince Harry has received criticism from the animal rights group PETA following his visit to a rodeo in Texas.

PETA released a statement on Twitter in response to an article published detailing Harry's Rodeo visit while in Texas. The statement read: "Prince Harry should feel embarrassed & contrite for attending a wretched rodeo. Royals are often mocked for being out of touch. Harry's good on many issues, Meghan better on most. We hope to remind him that there's no excuse for supporting animal abuse."

Further comment was provided by the assistant manager of PETA's media response team, Catie Cryar, who said in a statement: "It's extremely disappointing to see that Prince Harry made the misjudgment to attend a rodeo, a crude, old amusement for bored cowboys who view animals as nothing more than things."

Harry's visit to the Stockyards Championship Rodeo in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 5 was undertaken as a private citizen. There he was photographed by a member of the public, speaking to event organizers.

The visit came as Harry appears to be making a tour of American cultural experiences. In February, accompanied by cousin Princess Eugenie, he was seen at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.

Finding Freedom co-author Omid Scobie called Harry's rodeo visit an example of his "living his best life" on Twitter. The post read:

"Living his best American life. Prince Harry was in Fort Worth, Texas this weekend and spent Saturday at the historic @cowtowncoliseum for the famous @StockyardsRodeo. The duke was spotted by locals enjoying some good ol' Southern hospitality and a VIP tour of the venue."

Meghan Markle, who did not appear with her husband on the visit, has long been an advocate for animal rights since before she was married. In 2019 she became the patron of Britain's Mayhew Trust, a charity concerned with the welfare of cats and dogs.

This is not the first time Harry has faced criticism from animal rights activists. A 2004 photograph of him posing next to the body of a water buffalo on his sabbatical year in South America was published by newspapers in 2014.

Though Harry's visit to the rodeo has garnered a backlash in the press, he is not the first member of the royal family to witness such a spectacle. In 1963 Queen Elizabeth II herself was a spectator at a rodeo in Darwin, Australia with Prince Philip. Prince William and Kate Middleton were guests at a similar event in Calgary during their 2011 tour of Canada.