In the midst of the controversy generated by the riding in the Creole Week of Montevideo, the event manager of the City Hall, Pablo Barletta, confirmed that five of the rides scheduled for Friday were rescheduled for Saturday due to horse injuries.
According to Barletta, some of the animals had stumbled and hit each other, so it was decided to reschedule those mounts as a precaution. In addition, he stressed that those injured horses would not be used again. In total, 90 horse riding were to be carried out on the day.
The Coordinator for the Abolition of the Jineteadas in Uruguay (CAJU), meanwhile, convened a manifestation against the activity for this Sunday, closing day of the Creole Week. The call is for 6:00 p.m. on Lucas Obes Avenue and Hermanos Ruiz Street.
The CAJU seeks an end to the horse riding in Montevideo, after dozens of injured horses and the death of one of them were recorded in the current edition of Criolla Week.
Rita Rodríguez, a member of the NGO Trato Ético Animal and a member of the CAJU, said that in Friday’s horse riding there were “so many, but so many falls, that they closed the ring earlier, there were about five mounts to go and they closed earlier because a horse ended up in the floor”. In addition, she assured that there was a rider who was also injured.
Rodríguez reported that a formal request will be made to the mayor to know the number of animals injured and killed in the activity. The president of the Union of Appearances and Traditionalist Societies of Uruguay (Uastu), Jorge Díaz, defended the jineteadas and affirmed that animal welfare is taken care of in them. However, Rodríguez affirmed that this argument is an attempt to divert the discussion.
For the CAJU, the responsibility for promoting violence against animals falls on the mayor, who is the one who organizes and supports the activity in the Rural del Prado. The organization believes that it is time to stop allocating money and work to activities that violate the rights of animals.
The controversy surrounding the jineteadas in Uruguay is not new and has generated a strong debate in society. While some defend the gaucho tradition and culture, others consider that these practices violate the rights of animals and should be prohibited.
Criolla Week opened with a dead horse
Last Sunday, on the first formal day of Criolla Week, a horse died after suffering severe trauma during a horse riding.
A report from the IMM indicated that he was assisted by a team of veterinarians “appointed by the Municipality of Montevideo to guarantee the care of all participating herds. He was transferred to receive the corresponding assistance and after diagnosing a fracture that caused a femoral artery hemorrhage, his death was confirmed”.