"The investigation showed that the defendant was the only person using an electric shocker at the events. He was asked several times to stop by other rodeo cowboys who saw him shocking the calves unnecessarily."
The association said it believed disciplinary action should have been taken by the Rodeo Cowboys Association and that one of the purposes behind filing the prosecution was to have the defendant banned from taking part in future rodeo events.
SAFE's head of campaigns, Marianne Macdonald, said it should be up to MPI to take animal abusers to court and applauded the association for taking the case.
"We fully support the private prosecution of these people who think it's okay to abuse animals for fun. It's another example of MPI failing in its job to protect animals in rodeos. Where MPI fails, other organisations are stepping up."