A British family holidaying in Villa Joyosa near Alicante city have raised grave concerns about a group of circus animals kept inside a 12-metre container in sweltering conditions since Monday (July 28).
Anne Rowe and her family witnessed Circo Nevada staff herding the eight horses and ponies, two camels and a monkey into the container after the final show finished on Monday night.
She says the animals are only let out of the container to drink for five minutes each day and are not being properly fed.
“They get brought out for a couple minutes for a little drink and then are returned to this container for the next 24 hours,” Anne said. “They would all be better off dead than living this terrible existence.”
Sue and Rod Weeding from the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre Foundation in Rojales plus staff from Alicante’s La Fundación Raúl Mérida, which deals with wild animals and circuses, are assisting with the case and the police are expected to visit the site this week.
“We’re doing everything we can to get the authorities to intervene but it’s quite difficult,” Sue said. “The problem with circuses is that they just move from place to place and once they’ve moved the animals, the whole process has to start again because they’re in a different province.”
While some councils across Spain, including Guardamar, have banned circuses with live animals, the practice is still legal in most areas.
“People need to be aware that this type of thing often happens with circus animals, they’re just not cared for properly,” Sue said. “Really, in this day and age it’s unbelievable that this still goes on. It’s really important not to support these type of circuses with animals.”
The Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre has more than 80 horses, ponies and donkeys saved from abuse and neglect at its Rojales shelter, which is open every Sunday from 1pm-4pm. Entrance is free and guided tours begin at 2pm. Tasty food and refreshments are available in the garden café.
The EHCRC welcomes any donations and sponsorships to help support their important work. Donations of furniture, clothes and bric-a-brac to stock the centre’s network of eight charity shops are also gratefully welcomed.
The charity shops are located in La Zenia, Los Montesinos, La Siesta, Ciudad Quesada, La Marina, Pilar de Horadada and the brand new Gran Alacant store.
Large donated items such as furniture can be collected from your house and each shop also offers a delivery service for large items purchased from the charity shops. EHCRC is also looking for volunteers to staff its shops for a few hours or days each week. Please contact the charity shop hotline on 652 021 980 for more information about furniture pick-ups and volunteering.
EHCRC is located just outside Rojales at Partido Lo Garriga 59. For more details and directions to the centre, please visit www.easyhorsecare.net.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/44497/
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