- EDITIONS:
Spanish News Today
Murcia Today
Alicante Today
PROPERTY SEARCH
ARCHIVED - Dehydrated carriage horse forced to work in 36 degree heat drops dead at Seville Fair
Seville police are investigating the horse-drawn carriage owner for alleged animal abuse
Heartbreaking images of a sick and dehydrated carriage horse collapsing and dying of suspected heat and overexertion during Seville Fair (April 23-29) have been brought to light by the Party Against Animal Abuse (Pacma) and the Local Police.
The latter, in coordination with the Centre for Animal Control and Protection, has opened animal abuse proceedings against the owner of the horse-drawn carriage following the mare's death at around 3.30pm on Wednesday April 26.
🟥@PoliciaSevilla instruye diligencias por delito de maltrato animal contra la propietaria de una yegua que murió al agravarse la enfermedad que padecía por una deshidratación.
— Emergencias Sevilla (@EmergenciasSev) April 26, 2023
Ocurrió a las 15:45 h. en Paseo Cristobal Colón #Sevilla
+ https://t.co/p1MuJaJTIx pic.twitter.com/iP77FiANtt
A necropsy carried out by veterinarians within hours of the tragedy determined that the horse had been poorly for an unspecified amount of time, and this illness had been aggravated by temperatures in the region of 36ºC, according to Seville Emergency Service.
The deceased horse showed "obvious symptoms of dehydration that would have aggravated the disease he was suffering from".
In a statement, the service explained: "The events occurred in the early afternoon in Paseo de Colón. The veterinary report after the necropsy determined that the animal suffered from equine piroplasmosis and showed symptoms of having suffered from fever. According to the testimonies gathered by police, this circumstance was known by the owner of the mare, and even so, he decided to take the animal out to work."
For its part, PACMA has panned the city council for allowing such practices go on without reprisal.
Muere un caballo tirando del carro, y le traen otro de repuesto...
— PACMA (@PartidoPACMA) April 26, 2023
Con las altas temperaturas, 36 grados hoy, y solo dos abrevaderos en el recinto ferial y nada en el trayecto. ¿Esta es la imagen que quieren dar @antoniomunozsev y el @Ayto_Sevilla? ¡Así no!
📹 Rescate de aves pic.twitter.com/EQGuSjyCuX
"Clara Márquez, the provincial coordinator of PACMA in Seville, reproaches the city council for not learning from the events of previous years and making the same mistakes."
In May 2022, another horse died from an internal haemorrhage as a result of overexertion and high temperatures while taking part in Seville's famed April Fair.
And in 2018, an equine lost its life during the fair when its owner failed to feed or water the animal for the entire day.
PACMA continues to hold Seville Council and the Andalucian government responsible.
And many outraged Twitter users agree. Having watched the heart-wrenching clip, one tweeter questioned: "There is an animal protection law. Can't something be done? Are we really so oblivious to suffering?"
"This could be solved by banning horse-drawn carriages, all of them, not just those that go to the Fair," said another.
Image: PACMA
staff.inc.and
See more news about animals in Spain:
OR
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin to get a comprehensive email with all the week’s news for Spain, Murcia, Alicante and Andalucía.
Get a sneak peek – here are a few of our recent Subscription Bulletins:
50% Discount Special Offer subscription:
24.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
