Things have changed in Spain over the last 40 years as far as cruelty to animals go and what happened during the Granada Three Kings Parade is testimony to that.

The procession included floats pulled by a pair (or span?) of oxen, decked out in all kinds of paraphernalia. The procession moved in stops and goes and during one of those moments when it was stopped, one of the oxen lifted its head in protest, which is understandable, given the noise and multitude gathered.

The man leading the oxen, in front of everybody, kneed the animal in the nose, which was met with an immediate condemnation from the members of the crowd who had witnessed it, mostly mothers with their children.

Quite apart from the indignation expressed on social media, the PSOE opposition party condemned the incident, pointing out that when they governed in the city, it was expressly forbidden to use animals in these procession but that the PP Mayor, Carazo, had permitted it again with these results.

The animals’ rights association, PACMA, had demanded that the Town Hall responds for this situation as it considers it “intolerable that animal are still used in public spectacles, putting them in extreme stress situations caused by crowds and loud noises, and in this particular case, physical animal cruelty.”

The hermandad that organised the procession issued a communique from its governing board saying that, “During the whole procession there was a veterinary surgeon present who looked after the animal at all times.”

Editorial comment: when you take into account that the PP (conservatives) not only fully support bullfighting as a spectacle but even passed a law subsidising it with taxpayers’ money, it would be rather hypocritical if the conservative mayor of Granada criticised this act of animal cruelty.

But let’s underline that a little; in the same year that the conservative PM Rajoy, refused to take into account a petition backed by well over a million signatures demanding that banks should accept that the mortgage debt has been cleared when reposing a property, he fell over himself to accept a petition of just 600,000 signatures to make bullfighting a state-subsidised institution.

So, again, just how will the Mayor have the neck to condemn what happened in the procession when her party fully supports bull fighting with taxpayers’ money?

(News: City & Metropolitan Area, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Bull Fighting, Three Kings, Parade, Ox-Drawn Floats, Animal Cruelty

Reader’s comment: “Hopefully that munt will get his comeuppance one day. With regards to your comments on the Bull Torture and Murder situation. While those in power. Both Royalty and Elected. Continue to support such acts as Bull Murder and Running of the Bulls. Then parts of this lovely country. Will be stuck in medieval barbarity. For such civilised persons not to condemn. But condone is absurd .” – Patrick Barry Storey