Animal Equality activists have staged a demonstration outside the Spanish parliament in Madrid to place a commemorative plaque and a wreath of flowers in memory of Moscatel, the bull whose death in Tordesillas on 15 September was filmed by Animal Equality, as well as in memory of all other victims of such ‘festivals’. The plaque reads “Moscatel. February 2005 – September 2009. In memory of all the victims of Tordesillas. Igualdad Animal”.
The police attempted to impede the protest, obliging Animal Equality to move away from the immediate vicinity, where finally we were able to place the wreath and commemorative plaque.
The protest was staged to coincide with the voting session that was to take place that same afternoon in the Congress of Deputies. During the session, the future of festivals such as the Toro de la Vega in Tordesillas would be debated.
Recently, another vote took place in the senate after a senator held up the front page of El Pais newspaper with the photograph taken by Animal Equality during the massacre in Tordesillas to show the suffering of the animals in this festival and propose that such festivals stop being considered of “National Tourist Interest”. The result of the vote was a majority against the proposal due to the votes of the PP and PSOE parties.
Animal Equality take a clear position with respect to the Toro de la Vega and other events exploiting animals: We demand their abolition and the end of the use of animals in such events. Other animals, remembering that humans are also animals, are not objects at our disposal but individuals with their own interests that must be respected independently of the species to which they belong.
Animal Equality filmed the images of the killing of Moscatel on 15 September in Tordesillas, Spain. These unique, shocking images showing how Moscatel was speared and stabbed to death were widely broadcast by the main media sources in Spain and helped to create the present debate in society over the Toro de la Vega.
See the photo gallery of the protest