Headed by young psychology student Amy Johnston, the group of about 20 will also use the protest – at the Brendon Clark Professional Bull Riding event – to call for the sport to be banned across the Hunter.

Maitland women Callie Redman, Lucia Webster and Lily Denshire have supported the call.

“These animals are enslaved and taken out of their natural environment to perform and that’s cruel,” Ms Hill, 22, said.

“Bull riding is outdated and belongs in the dark ages, we are in a new era now and more advanced so we don’t need to do this anymore. I am still quite shocked that we support it in any way.”

But PBR Australia general manager Glenn Young said the protesters’ claims could not be further from the truth.

“There is a lot of misguided information out there, but from our perspective the bulls are treated with as much respect as the human athletes who ride them,” Mr Young said. “Most of our bulls live longer than most cattle in the industry and about 90 per cent of them will go back to the paddock for breeding after their careers and will die from old age.”

Ms Johnson, 23, of Newcastle, disagreed.

“We want this sport to be banned because there is no way this industry will ever be humane,” she said. There is this great quote saying that genetics load the gun and the environment points the trigger and that’s relevant here.”

The protest will be held outside the Newcastle Entertainment Centre between 7pm and 8pm.