VILLANUEVA - A GREAT IMPROVEMENT

This year I can say that the party has been all right in comparison to the last years, thanks to the protests and the new regional law on the maltreatments of animals with exit in July 2002.

With these words of Gabriella Scaperrotta that can be synthesized that this year is happened to the party of the Pero Palo to Villanueva de la Vera; a result that would have made happy Clara Genero, disappeared three years ago and that so much was used against this celebration and other parties, Italian and not, based on the use of animals.

Certainly the optimal result would have been to use a false donkey, as proposed by the Spanish animalists of the ANPBA, but in comparison to the past this was a great step ahead however.

Report of Michele Mastini and Gabriella Scaperrotta - Villanueva 2003

Monday 03/03/2003

In the morning of Monday we are direct to Villanueva to meet Jacinto, one of the responsibles of the organization of the party of the Pero Palo, that has made us view some tapes of some years ago. The first one documented part of the done course to completed by the animal during the party of eight years ago. Almost never it was possible to see the donkey exception of the ears, from the moment that the crowd has covered him brutally. In the second tape, of the year 2000, we have seen Jacinto interviewed by a Spanish reporter near the animal, for that year selected . From the little that we were able to understand. Jacinto intended to put the attention on the fact, that during the party the animal didn't suffer maltreatments (or it should not suffer them) and that its safety was kept in tall consideration from the people of the place...

In the late afternoon we have succeeded in meeting the group of English animalists (the veterinarian dr. Derrick and Paul Svendsen, responsible of the Donkey Sanctuary) and the delegate of the Donkey Sanctuary in Spain as well as an representative of the association for the defence of the equine José Rodriguez, of Malaga., in the near Jarandilla. With the last one we have discussed the organization of our control on the demonstration according to the different situations that we would have been able to meet. Among the other things José has spoken to us with full particulars of he new Spanish regional law on the maltreatment of the animals and he had given to us the possibility to make two copies of it so that everyone of us had one of it under hand during the party, in case it would be necessary to consult the strengths of the order during his carrying out, but fortunately it had not been necessary. (In any case it seems to be our duty to make notice that the agents have been totally absent for the whole duration of the celebration).

José informed himself via telephone at the Commune of Villanueva in how far they intended to behave this year to make respect the new law, but the answers seemed to be rather evasive, and we didn't have real elements to hope that the situation could have positive changes in comparison to the years before and we are prepared therefore to the idea to be in duty to make a criminal complaint at the local authorities at the end of the party. In forecast of this, José had thought about the eventually involving of the body of the environment of Jarandilla, knowing that we would hardly have been able to count on the support of their colleagues of it Villanueva. In fact we have come to know that those would not even have lent service for the whole day of Tuesday there.

Monday evening we have confronted our program with this of the English activists, with whom we have discussed subsequently on the impressions and forecasts for the following day. It was important to them to express their appreciation to the important and continuous presence in the passed years, of an Italian delegation on the occasion of the celebration of the Pero Palo.

Tuesday 04/03/2003

The morning of Tuesday we have come to the plaza central of Villanueva at about 8 o'clock to expect Jacinto, that according to the precedent editions would have had to conduct us to see the donkey before the beginning of the party. So it has not been, and more, it was our impression (especially that of Gabriella, who has been able to make a direct comparison with her 2001 experience) that Jacinto has been less available towards us as we would have expected. Around 9:30 he has told us to follow him in direction of the upper part of the village and, arrived in a small place, he made us understand to wait . In the meantime a lot of the people that we had seen to focus themselves in plaza before, have reached us in that same place and at the same time we have noticed that towards us the looks became lightly hostile, however without interventions of open confrontation.

In opposite to the last years the donkey has been transported up to that point on a special towing hauled by a jeep of the Commune: at the arrival of the car they mad us understand in a bad mode to go away, while we thought to be able to stay always near to Jacinto. We have been pushed away and there told us “to return to Rome”, not to let us see again the next year, words repeated also at the end of the party. To tell the truth, has been perhaps the only negative note (apart of the use of the donkey ) of the morning, that, before the beginning of the procession, given to us elements to foresee that the inhabitants would also show themselves aggressive towards the donkey. In fact in this moment the first impact with their hostility has caused more than few worries, but luckily at least this time, the event has decidedly developed in less intolerable way for the animal.

Conducted as of usual in the atrium of the Commune, the donkey has been made then to go out in the plaza with a man in rump and immediately, to our great relief we have been able to ascertain that the people not assault him, but there was left some space around and in front of it what made it able to proceed.

The greatest physical inconvenience was provoked by the man, that „rode” it, which, very drunk, didn't succeed in sustaining himself in equilibrium that for few seconds, and this was often, folded up with all of its weight on the head on the animal, for to be gotten up then from some of the bystanders.

The shots of the rifles surely have been to it cause of stress and fear, but however the chaos was general. The procession has proceeded at a speed rather fast, in fact the run has been concluded in about 45 minutes, that, compared to the real Calvary of two or more hours it had to suffer in past, they have almost been ”nice walk”.

We have not be able to see the donkey falling down, even if the English veterinarian has declared to us later to have seen it fall once (it has been difficult to follow it every moment because of the narrow streets and alleys and the notable speed, the group of people – even if it was not so numerous - forced us to introduce us in the side streets to regain the „pole position” - in front, and also to be able to take some photos); luckily it did not seem to have brought physical damages caused by this fall.

The party is finished, as in the years before, in the central plaza from where it starts; the donkey has quickly been conducted in the trailer (something that unfortunately has prevented the veterinarian to visit it appropriately, allowing instead only a fast examination through the bars; the “visit” however seemed to be good enough to appraise its general state of health, the regular pulsation and the absence of evident lesions - while after having visited the animal last year the dr. Derrick has spoken of around forty lesions well visible)

In the moment in which we were observing the towing get further there we heard the confirmation “to return in Rome” and of “not to return to spoil the party anymore.”

We then preferred to avoid to make a criminal complaint also because we were not able then to follow its developments; we have read later that in such sense it has acted the ANPBA and we hope that this pushes to the substitution of the true donkey with a false one, so that to other sentient beings and emotionally fragile could be avoided any form of damage or stress.

AND THE MAYOR....

the mayor of Villanueva, José Anthony Rodríguez, has declared to „ El Periodico” , the newspaper, that it was the day in which he felt, more than ever before, proud of his village “because we have shown once more today that in here the donkey it is not abused.” Who knows what to do, whether to cry or to laugh....