News
Spain
Carriage donkey collapses in Fuengirola, Spain
By Donna Leanne Bradley-Brown •
Published: 05 Aug 2024 • 20:12
• 2 minutes read
A carriage donkey, forced to work despite the soaring temperatures, collapsed yesterday evening in Fuengirola, Spain
A reel posted on Instagram by @fuengirolasequeja has sparked outrage amongst animal lovers, as video footage taken in the town of Mijas, shows the collapse of a donkey whilst still harnessed to the cart it had been pulling that day. The reel shows the animal fall to the ground, tipping the cart over as it falls, and then clearly in great distress as it struggles to get back on four legs. A young man in casual summer clothes approaches the donkey initially, as it rolls on its side on the floor, but steps back, unsure how to help the animal as it writhes painfully on the hard ground, its hooves fighting desperately for purchase on the tarmac. Once the donkey is back on its feet, the same young man, appearing to be concerned for the animal, approaches it again and reaches out to take hold of the donkey´s rope. In the foreground of the reel, another man, dressed in black trousers and a white shirt, steps forwards but takes no immediate action.
Fury amongst animal lovers at the exploitation of carriage horses
Incidents such as this are not isolated, and provoke fury amongst animal rights activists as well as the animal loving public. In July 2022, a carriage horse, being forced to work in 40 degrees heat in the centre of Palma de Mallorca, collapsed to the ground whilst a tourist sat in the cart, seemingly unperturbed, looking at the animal from his vantage point and making no effort to either disembark or to help.
In Seville, during the April festivals of 2023, a horse collapsed and died after pulling a carriage through the city centre in temperatures of up to 36 degrees [El Periódico de España, 26/04/2023].
Driving a horse and carriage for profit
Some regions of Spain are beginning to take note, with cities such as Palma de Mallorca buckling to pressure from charities such as PETA and the German Animal Welfare Federation, and promising to ban all horses and carts in the city with effect from this year, replacing them with electric vehicles. However, other regions across Spain are not necessarily following suit, at least for the present moment.
When researching the laws on driving a horse and carriage in Spain for profit, it is hard to find any information on the welfare of the animal itself. Indeed, when reading through some legal documents stipulating the rules and regulations for such work, although mention was made of keeping horse and carriage parking stations clean, in order not to be a bother to the public, and the maintenance of the cart was covered in great detail, no mention was made at all about the care of the horse [Regulatory Order of Transport of Tourists in Horse and Carriage in the Municipality of Aranjuez].
Sadly, as long as some tourists continue to be lured by the romance of touring a town or city in a horse and carriage either oblivious or indifferent to the welfare of the animal supply and demand remain hand in hand, despite the best efforts of those petitioning to local governments to either crack down on animal welfare or abolish the tradition altogether.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Leave a comment Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Website
Comment for robots
Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE!
Covering the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Almeria, Axarquia, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.
With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.
Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Close
