Rodeo bull: Video of moment bull escapes Utah rodeo and injures politician's family after charging scarecrow

A raging bull that broke free from a rodeo arena on Thursday 3 August injured members of a politician's family in the car park. After violently throwing its rider, the bull escaped and charged a scarecrow - sending it flying into the air.

The Texas longhorn bull can be seen bursting through the gate at the Utah County Fair in Spanish Fork, USA, in a video shot by Chris Henson. When the escaping bull charged into the parking lot, it injured members of Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson's family.

Henderson's mother reportedly suffered minor injuries and bruises before running for cover inside a car as the bull trampled her brother's foot.

Henderson tweeted: "Despite being chased, knocked down and stepped on (bro’s foot) they miraculously escaped w/minor injuries. They’re pretty shaken (and I’m pretty p***ed).” After several minutes, Rodeo Cowboys were able to corral the bull."

Bulls or other animals escaping from rodeo events do occur occasionally, but rodeo organisers and industry professionals typically take precautions to minimise the risk of incidents such as these.

But accidents do happen, and in one of the most infamous incidents, a bull named "Bodacious" escaped during the 1984 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo and ran into the crowd, injuring several spectators.

In 2010, a bull jumped a fence at the Pendleton Round-Up and injured several people in the crowd, while the 2014 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was notable for a steer escaping from its pen and running through the carnival area, causing panic and injuring a number of people.

Critics of rodeos argue that certain practices and events can cause physical and psychological stress to animals, potentially leading to injuries or suffering. However, industry professionals claim to continually work to enhance animal handling practices and event safety measures to prevent incidents, saying animal welfare and safety of both participants and spectators are paramount concerns for the rodeo industry.

Animal rights activists have been vocal in their opposition to certain aspects of rodeo practices, and often advocate for stricter regulations, improved animal welfare standards and even the complete abolition of events they consider to be particularly harmful.