Cruelty continues in the name of tradition

Yet again, under the excuse of tradition, the Government of Extremadura has permitted the use of a donkey in the "Corrida de Elecciones" ritual, breaking animal protection laws in the region of Extremadura.

Our welfare officer arrived in the village of Villanueva de la Vera an hour before the event was to start. He heard some of the villagers commenting about if the donkey would be used or not this year but... at 10 am the donkey was pushed into the crowd from the Town Hall to start the terrible ordeal with guns being fired just inches from its head and surrounded by a drunken mob. At one point he even observed two people riding the donkey. Our welfare officer commented "the poor animal was scared to death from start to finish and this is an event that I would not like to witness again."

The whole event took 45 minutes and although the donkey did not fall to the ground this year, it had to be held up by the revelers surrounding it.

The President of Extremadura should be ashamed to have let a defenseless animal continue to be treated in this way. We strongly believe it is time for a change.

We will keep fighting to get this barbaric use of an innocent donkey banned once and for all and will be taking legal action against the people who allow this cruelty to be repeated year after year.

In order to help us, you can continue to increase our protest campaign and add to the over 7,000 people who have already signed up in support of our cause. When we have 10,000 signatures we will organise a mass protest at the Governmental Offices in Madrid.

Sign the online petition.

(English translation available)

You can also help us by supporting our work, El Refugio del Burrito gets no governmental grants and depends only on the generosity of its supporters. Every donation no matter how small is used to help us rescue and care for our donkeys, run riding therapy projects for children with special needs and of course campaign against cruel events like Villanueva de la Vera. With your help we can make a difference!