Spanish Oddities
Sheep flock to Madrid in climate change protest
By m.p. - Oct 26, 2009 - 12:47 PM
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EFE
The right to drive the animals through the city dates from the 15th Century
Hundreds of sheep were herded through the centre of Madrid on Sunday in the annual parade which takes place in the Spanish capital for the Fiesta de Trashumancia in defence of ancient droving routes.
The protest is now in its 16th year and this year highlighted the importance of pasture land in the face of climate change.
Along with horses, oxen, cows and dogs, and followed by a crowd of some 200,000 people, the 500 sheep were herded by their shepherds from the Casa de Campo to the Plaza de la Villa. There, as tradition dictates, the shepherds paid over 25 maravedís, 15th Century Castilian coins, in payment for the right to drive their sheep through the city. The amount set under an agreement signed in 1418 was 50 maravedís for every 1,000 animals.