35 suspects arrested & 80 horses rescued from dismantled criminal horse meat gang in Spain

» WORLD ANIMAL NEWS by Lauren Lewis | 12 Dec 2022 In a major victory, a criminal organization in Spain that was illegally marketing horses for slaughter was recently dismantled by The Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and Europol. Eighty horses, that displayed signs of animal abuse and had no veterinary care were also rescued…

Europol and Spain lead horse meat fraud investigation

FOOD SAFETY NETWORK (FSN) reports: December 2, 2022 EUROPEAN authorities have uncovered a network that sold potentially dangerous horse meat in at least four countries. The operation was coordinated by Europol and the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil). A video can be seen here. Operation Yucatán targeted the sale of horse meat unsuitable for consumption. The meat…

The horses of “Las Luminarias”, the Festival of Fire

Every year, in the central province of Avila in Spain, locals honour San Antonio Abad (Saint Anthony). Saint Anthony is a patron saint of animals and locals celebrate him in the traditional festival of Las Luminarias. The night before the festival, dozens of locals ride horses through bonfires to honour the saint. Is this how…

Palma carriage drivers complain of harassment and racism

Mallorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, part of Spain — located in the Mediterranean. In the city of Palma there are 28 horse drawn carriages. Fifteen of them are based by the Cathedral, eight on Calle Conqueridor and five in Arenal. Rafael Suárez is one of just a few drivers at the Cathedral who…

Majorca campaign to ban horse drawn tourist buggies

The Majorcan Progreso en Verde party has launched a National campaign with the motto, ’Tourist Save Me, End My Suffering' in a bid to stop the exploitation of horses used to pull tourist buggies and the party is also calling for them to be replaced with electric vehicles. "Collecting signatures, letters to town halls, lawsuits and rallies…

Criminal group allegedly sold unfit horse meat

SPAIN | If4H Spanish authorities have busted a suspected organized crime group selling horse meat that could have been unfit for human consumption. The Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) was supported by Europol. The alleged criminal organization, based in the province of Barcelona, reportedly falsified equine documents and sold horse meat without the mandatory documentation…

Rapa das bestas Spain 2019

Spain is not a country any of us at The Horse Fund would spend vacation time or money on. Spain retains a core savagery that is unsettling and disgraceful. Spaniards revel in holding on to their gory, barbaric and outdated customs and festivals, many of which involve the horrific treatment of animals. Horses are too…

Foto Friday: Pilgrims lead their horses to the shrine of El Rocio in Spain

ANDALUCIA, Spain —  For most of the year the small hamlet of El Rocío is just about as deserted a place as you could wish to find. Its wide, sandy streets are lined with impressively large houses complete with verandahs but they are usually uninhabited except at the time of the pilgrimage. It’s the pilgrimage…

25 people arrested as horse meat scandal rears its ugly head again in Europe

HORSE MEAT (Spain) — Convicted food fraudster Jan Fasen was arrested for masterminding a new illegal horse meat distribution network, writes John Robbins for the International Business Times. Here's more from the same article. A Dutchman at the centre of the 2013 European horse meat scandal has been arrested in Spain accused of masterminding another illegal…

Spain economic crisis sends 5,000 horses a month to slaughter

Horse meat is ugly. Carne de caballo es feo. FOX LATINO reports: The economic crisis in Spain is sending almost 5,000 horses a month to the slaughterhouse and has increased the number of animals abandoned because their owners can no longer afford to keep them. The secretary general of the Professional Association of Slaughterhouses and…