Cristina Hodgson
ANIMAL rights party slam burro taxi owners for the ‘chronic mistreatment’ of the animals used to drive tourists ‘from sunrise to sunset.’
The animal rights party PACMA has denounced the situation of ‘chronic mistreatment’ that the donkey taxis in Mijas are under and claims that despite continual efforts to improve the welfare of the animals, ‘nobody has done anything to put an end to this exploitation’.
PACMA insists that the animals work ‘from sunrise to sunset carrying passengers’ and spend ‘their few hours of rest in tiny stables and with visible health problems.’
The animal rights party has compiled new documentation based on photographs and videos taken in the last few weeks which reveal that the situation of the donkeys has not improved, rather there continues to be a ‘chronic mistreatment’ of the animals.
In 2015, PACMA presented a report drawn up by veterinarian Agustin Gonzalez on the health of these animals due to the physical deterioration in which they find themselves.
The report highlighted that the donkeys suffered from ‘numerous ulcers and crusty erosions on the skin, some of which are infected due to the saddle’, additionally it pointed out to the ‘permanent lesions and deformations observed on the muzzles, caused by prolonged contact with the metal of the bridles used’.
Unfortunately, despite many calls for action to improve the well-being of the donkeys, the situation, seven years on, remains hopelessly dire.
The vice-president of PACMA, Cristina Garcia, a lawyer and expert in animal law, maintains that there are ‘multiple alternatives’ for visiting the city without the need to use animals, and calls on the City Council to ‘address the problems which occur in its municipality’.
“The situation of the so-called donkey-taxis must be dealt with as a matter of extreme urgency because these animals are suffering the consequences of permanent mistreatment,” Garcia said.
READ MORE:
- Donkey Dreamland: Discover a refuge for mistreated donkeys on Spain’s Costa del Sol
- PACMA slams burro taxi owner after donkey left to die alone in ‘unsuitable’ stable in Mijas
