“Barbaric” carousels using live donkeys have been banned in a Spanish town after The Donkey Sanctuary lobbied authorities against the practice.
The donkeys and ponies work 12-hour days tied tightly to the carousel with their heads in metal cages.
The rides for children — which are used in many towns during festivals — have been stopped in Algeciras.
Felipe Macaira, welfare officer, said: “It’s great news. We wrote letters to the authorities asking for them to be banned after we got a lot of complaints about the donkeys and went to investigate and saw how awful and barbaric their conditions were.
“The donkeys had no freedom to move or to rest and no shade from the sun or peace from the loud music and bright lights. They’re cramped in and subject to constant loud music and bright lights. Sometimes they can even go blind.”
The Donkey Sanctuary hopes other towns will also ban them and is urging tourists to avoid these rides and report any signs of abuse to them.
Mr Macaira added: “We’re glad that the Algeciras authorities have agreed to ban the carousels but we hope that other towns will follow suit and ban them as well because they are completely inappropriate as a form of entertainment.”
