Spain News
Shotguns and Surging Crowds for the Shrove Thursday Donkey
This morning a donkey has once again endured cruelty at the hands of drunken crowds at a traditional Spanish festival, international animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary has witnessed.
On Shrove Tuesday every year the village of Villanueva de la Vera hosts the carnival of Peropalo, where it is traditional for a donkey to be pulled through the very narrow cobbled streets of the village, ridden by an intoxicated rider and surrounded by a large crowd, some of whom fire shotguns. It is an extremely frightening experience for the animal, and one which The Donkey Sanctuary has been campaigning against for 25 years.
A representative of the charity attended the event this morning and has sent this report:
Peropalo 2012
On Tuesday 21st of February 2012, with the knowledge of both the Local Council and the government of Extremadura, once again, a defenceless donkey will be condemned to be dragged, pushed and pulled through the streets of Villanueva de la Vera, a small town with no more than 2000 people. The donkey will be forced to endure, as part of a local ‘fiesta’, stress, violence and suffering.
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