Charlie Smith
BRITISH comedian Ricky Gervais has slammed a Spanish ‘horse-wrestling’ festival.
The 58-year-old Office star branded participants of the ‘Rapa das Bestas’ festival ‘absolute filth’.
Gervais was commenting on seemingly-shocking footage, which appears to show men jumping on the horses and wrestling them to the ground.
Speaking on Twitter, Gervais garnered over 16,000 likes for his post, which was supported by many fellow users.
One replied, ‘Never wanted to see someone’s teeth kicked in so bad in my life’, while another wrote, ‘Shame on them. Shame on Spain.’
Rapa das Bestas roughly translates to ‘Shearing of the Beasts’ and takes place at locations throughout Galicia.
The annual 400-year-old tradition sees hundreds of wild horses from different villages herded into small arenas.
Locals then attempt to trim their manes and delouse the animals before freeing them back to the wild.
It comes as Gervais, who is a consistent supporter of animal rights, criticised a Spanish matador in May, for wiping the tears of a dying bull, calling him a ‘sequinned c**t’.
