Report on the horse fair of Puigcerdá, Catalonia, Spain
02. – 03.11.20131
Operator: Local Council of Puigcerdá
Date and time of the visit: 2 November 17.12-18.50; 20.24-21.30. 3 November 08.0509.05; 10.00-13.50
Temperature: On the afternoon of the 2nd, approx. 15°C; 9ºC during our visit at night.
Following the broadcast information the temperature dropped to 5ºC that night. On the
3rd, 9ºC in our visit in the morning, raising to 17ºC at noon.
Team: Alberto Díez, ANDA/ Siri Kampmann, Animals’ Angels
I. Background
The annual horse fair of Puigcerdá is an important date for the regional and national
trade of “meat horses”. It is an antique fair and local feast that attracts thousands of
tourists and families that outnumber users and professionals by large. Each year more
than a thousand horses are coming mainly from the surrounding rural area of Puigcerdá.
These animals have been reared for their meat in the mountains in a half wild, free, open
air way. There is too a group of “sport” horses, many of them coming from Andalusia The
fair lasts two days. The majority of the “meat horses” that has not been sold the first day
are taken back to the farm during the night, only the sport horses stay overnight. ANDA
and Animals Angels´ have been visiting the fair since 2008 witnessing severe breaches
of the current legislation, Regulation EC1/2005, related to both the handling and
practices of transport. Usually a strong opposition to the presence of the NGO teams has
been experienced. Reports with the results of our inspections have been issued to the
operator and to the Regional Authorities in Catalonia. Some improvements have been
observed since 2008 such as information boards, provision of water and food or attempts
to organize the flow of people and professionals. The aim of our visit this year was to
check if these improvements were still in place and check if any further measures have
been taken
II. Observations
A. General provisions
1) The fair takes place in an open air area without any kind of roof protection for the
animals that are kept in pens. The team observes 2 horses that are tied up on a
fence outside the pens. There is an indicated pen for hospitalization.
2) There is a tank with water, hay and straw that can be used by professionals. No
buckets are available. The disposal of food, water or bedding material is up to
the users.
1- The fair is open from the 2nd (10:00) to the 3rd (13:00). Animals are arriving from the evening of the
1st. The team was visiting the fair from the 2nd (17:00) on. Therefore the team does not witness what
happens before.
3) There are many boards informing on the main obligations under Regulation
EU1/2005. There are also boards in the main aisles indicating the passageways
Copyright Animals´ Angels/ANDA. Frankfurt/Madrid. November 2013
for professionals and for visitors. We do not see anyone respecting them. One of
the vets comments that on the 2 nd November members of Civil Protection were
controlling the access to restricted areas, smoothing commercial operations.
4) There two loading decks accessible to the general public. Larger lorries use
these decks.
5) The fair compound is organized in two main aisles, one made up of asphalt and
the other of soil. Loading/unloading operations are carried out in both of them.
Although following the signals general public should not enter the soil one, they
do. On the other hand the asphalt aisle is shared by both commercial operators
and tourists. This fact makes the unloading/loading operations more difficult and
stressful. The team observes dangerous situations involving public, users and
animals.
Dangerous situations
Straw, hay and water
B. Number and origin of the animals:
Approximately 900 horses, 10 ponies and 40 mules. A large majority of the horses are
meat horses coming from the nearby area, Girona province and, following the information
displayed in the information sheets, Barcelona province. They are of a regional breed
and many of them are unbroken horses. We observe 6 sport horses from Andalusia
much less than in previous editions of the fair. Following the information displayed in the
information sheet, these horses are coming from Huelva and Seville.
The animals seem to be in good physical condition.
C. Accommodation
1) Condition of pens:
The majority of the pens are made up of wooden bars. The entrance to the pen is closed
by ropes or plastic bands. Some of them are open with free animals inside. The team
observes that up to 8% of the animals are kept in pens whose bars are severely broken,
putting animals at a risk. Following the information given by a vet, 10 pens in good
condition are spare to be used when other pens are broken. The team observes two
changes of animals from broken pens to accurate ones. The vet comments that pens of
wooden bars are better for the animals as the risk of getting injured when kicking the
fence or when a horse´s leg is entangled between bars is reduced.
There are a few pens made up of metal bars. They are used mainly by the sport horses
coming from Andalusia. We observe a “sport” horse getting its leg caught between the
bars of the fence twice.
The majority of the pens are provided with straw. Some of them have barren natural soil.
The team observes only 4 pens provided with water in buckets.
Copyright Animals´ Angels/ANDA. Frankfurt/Madrid. November 2013
Broken fence
Bucket with water provided to the animal
2) Overnight accommodation
During the night from the 2nd to the 3rd, 6 pens are occupied with animals. One pen has
four untied mules with large ropes hanging from their necks. The mules have straw but
not water. The rest of the pens have sport horses provided with straw but with neither
water nor hay. Three of these sport horses are tied up by a long enough rope. Two of the
“sport” horses are tied up by a rope so short that they cannot even reach the straw. The
team feeds them and gives them some water. There is no roof protection for these
animals coming from Andalusia who are neither used to nor prepared for the low
temperatures of the Pyrenees. On the morning of the 3rd the team asks the owner about
the lack of water. He claims to have come to Puigcerdá on the night of the 1 st (therefore
the animals stayed two nights) and to have provided water but then someone had stolen
the buckets in the first night. There is one pen with an untied “meat horse” provided with
hay, straw and water.
One truck with license plates R7857BCN/2910HTD is parked in the loading area.
Animals are kept inside without water.
3) Accommodation practices
In general good practices are applied for the accommodation of the animals. However, at
least in four places, male sexual matured horses are placed along with females. In the
case of one of the sport horses the animal is excited, nervous and stressed, sweating
heavily. His leg gets trapped between the metal bars. Besides, many of the halters are
made up of rough ropes instead of flat material. On the 3rd one of the pens is
overcrowded. In approx. 5% of the pens tied and untied animals are kept together. The
team observes at least four horses tied up with a too short rope
III. Handling
In comparison with what the team witnessed in previous editions of the fair, the handling
has improved and now users let animals get into trucks by themselves However, the
team witnesses some cases of abused use of sticks hitting sensible parts of the animals
or poking. This bad handling is almost always due to:
1) The added difficulty of managing horses between the crowd of people and
vehicles as in the case of the loading of the lorry with license plate 4171GJK
2) When arranging the animals inside the truck in order to introduce too many
animals as in the case of the lorry with license plate 0387CZF/R5568BCK
3) At least in one occasion, separating groups of animals that had crossed from one
pen to the next due to the broken wooden separation.
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Horse tied up too short
Overloaded, poking
IV. Loading operations/ Transport practices
During unloading and loading the vehicles, operators and animals are often surrounded
by crowds of visitors watching and photographing the “spectacle”. Dangerous situations
are unavoidable.
The team observes half a dozen of farm tractors with animals loaded in their containers
that are nor suitable for the transport of animals. These tractors are coming from the
farms surrounding Puigcerdá and seem to be used to transport the animals from
holdings to the market and back to holdings.
The team observes at least one truck with French license plate.
The team observes the following deficiencies:
1) Too steep ramp:
-Truck with license plate: 4171GJK
-Truck with license plate: M5679UJ
-Truck with license plate: 0543FYB
2) Lack of lateral protection
-Truck with license plate: 4099 BCT. In this case the back of another truck is used as
lateral protection.
3) Unbroken horses loaded in groups of more than 4 individuals
-Truck with license plate: 4171GJK
-Truck with license plate: 0387CZF/R5568BCK: In this case the team counts 19
unbroken medium size horses loaded in one compartment. It is nearly impossible for the
users to close the doors due to the quantity of animals. After several scenes of violent
poking, three people applying their full strength succeed in closing the door. We count 19
unbroken horses and the owner claims to have loaded 17. The vet does not intervene
and the lorry leaves
-Truck with license plate: 4247FKW. 16 unbroken horses are loaded
-Truck with license plate R7857BCN/2910HTD
4) Tied up and not tied up animals loaded together
-Truck with license plate: 4099BCT
5) Less than 75 cm above the wither of the highest horse
-Truck with license plate: 0543FYB
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6) Males and females sexually matured loaded together
-Truck with license plate: R7857BCN/2910HTD. The truck has 4 departments. In one of
them there are one male and three females and in another there are three males and
one female. The horses are extremely nervous, kicking and biting continuously among
one another and against the lateral structure of the truck. One male tries to mount a
female that finally escapes to the other side of the department. The truck is rocking to
and fro along the full morning and the sounds of the horses hitting the lorry´s walls can
be heard over the whole fair ground. The team sees a vet talking with the driver of the
truck that leaves to Reinosa (Cantabria).
7) A truck without roof
-Truck with license plate: HU5730M. This truck without roof leaves the fair after being
loaded.
Truck without roof, inadequate ramp
Lack of lateral protection
More than 4 unbroken horses loaded together
Inadequate step
V. Infractions
The operator of the market fails in ensuring that animals are treated in accordance with
the technical rules set out in Chapters I and III, section 1, of Annex I of the EC Regulation
1/2005. Animals are subjected to unnecessary suffering due to installation deficiencies,
inappropriate handling or bad practices when accommodating or loading the animals.
1) Lack of roof for animals that are not used to low temperatures.
Infraction of Council Regulation EC 1/2005, article 3, d) and article 9, 1) in
connection with Chapter III, 1.3, a) of Annex I
2) Lack of provision of water
Infraction of Article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III 1.2, a) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
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3) Obstruction to animals that are being driven or led
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.8, f) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
4) The safety of animals is jeopardized by wooden bars
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.3, a) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
5) Installations does not assure animals escaping from pens
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.3, a) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
6) Overnight stays with animals that are tied up without water. Overnight
stays inside a lorry without water
7) Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.2, a) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
8) Animals tied up with a too short rope in such a way they cannot reach food
and water
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.11, b) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
9) Sexual matured animals that are neither handled nor transported separately
Infraction of Article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.12, d) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
10) Excessive hitting and poking during loading operations
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.8 a) and b) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
11) Ramps that are too steep
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.4, a) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
12) Lack of lateral protection
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.3, a) of Annex I of
Council Regulation EC 1/2005
13) Unbroken horses loaded in groups of more than 4 individuals
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 2.4 of Annex I of Council
Regulation EC 1/2005
14) Tied and untied animals loaded together
Infraction of the article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 1.12, g) of Annex I of
Council Regulation 1/2005
15) Not enough height above the tallest animal
Infraction of article 9, 1) in connection with Chapter III, 2.3 of Annex I of Council
Regulation EC 1/2005
16) Lack of roof in the means of transport
Infraction of article 6, 1 in connection with Chapter II, 1.1, b) of Annex I of Council
Regulation EC 1/2005
VI. Veterinary service responsible
Oficina Comarcal de la Cerdanya, 17520 Puigcerdá.
There is a temporary veterinary office placed in the fairground. This office is open to the
public from 10:00 to 18:00 on the 2nd and from 10:00 to 13:00 on the 3rd. There are at
least three vets in the office. The team sees one of them identified by a badge in the
loading area. Besides, there is another vet from the local council that is continuously on
the fair ground. The team observes this vet clearing people from the loading area.
We observe veterinary checks.
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VII. Evaluation of the observations and recommendations
Along the years the organizer of the horse fair of Puigcerdá along with the competent
authorities has taken steps that have resulted in an improvement of the general situation.
There is information everywhere about illegal practices and areas that are not allowed for
the general public. There is water, hay and straw free offered. The fair has been
extended to two complete days what means operations are more spread. The presence
of Civil Protection helps to keep general public out of the places where the main
operations take place. There are more vets on the fair ground and the measure of
keeping ten wooden pens empty to replace the broken ones is a step in the right
direction. Animals´ Angels and ANDA fully support these steps and encourage the
organizer to keep them for next editions of the fair.
We recommend not stopping here and going ahead in the corrective measures. Some of
them are not so difficult to achieve.
 Concerning the organization of the fair ground there are still too many tourists
jeopardizing the loading and unloading procedures. The perimeter alley that is
already in place in one side must be extended to the other side forbidding the
access to the two main aisles. Civil Protection must be on the fairground full time
or at least while the fair is open to the public.
 In relation with practices of transport the presence of vets in the
loading/unloading areas must be kept, enlarged and vets should intervene strictly
in all cases of breaches of the relevant legislation on the protection of animals
during transport, assuring the absence of illegal transport practices.
 The overnight stays can be better organized. As only a few animals are affected,
some kind of provisional tent can be set up for them. The organizer must make
sure that water and feed are supplied and that animals are not tied up.
 Another positive measure would be to have buckets at disposal for users.
Siri Kampmann (Animals´ Angels)
Alberto Díez (ANDA)
Copyright Animals´ Angels/ANDA. Frankfurt/Madrid. November 2013