The PACMA Animalist Party denounces that cattle dragging is a “tasteless” activity that causes “stress and physical suffering” to the cows, bulls and oxen that participate in the competitions. The Canarian farmers explain that it is a “traditional” issue and a way of “providing utility” to two “native” breeds that are no longer used to plow the land.
cows and oxen They carry between 800 kilos and 1.5 tons according to category, plus the resistance due to the friction of the ground along a 70-meter field, with an obstacle on the limit that redirects the team 180 degrees. ranchers they help themselves from the noseslocated in a sensitive area of the nose, and a «goaded rod» to make the animals run and finish the course in the shortest possible time without touching the obstacle.
It is a receptor activity senior grants (above 60,000 euros per year) and that receives contributions from both the Government of the Canary Islands and the different Cabildos. Both the celebration of competitions and the breeding of the Basta and Palm breeds.
The Association of Abolitionist Veterinarians of Bullfighting and Animal Abuse (AVATMA), made up of more than 500 professionals, determined in a devastating report in 2018 that the canary drag is «an exercise in animal abuse, absolutely unjustified as a way to preserve two autochthonous bovine breeds, which in no way were created and selected to develop this type of activity»
«The big nose should never be used to drive and subdue these bovines. in shows such as the Canary Drag, where its use is especially striking in the case of animals that, due to their character, are peaceful and very tame. It is through the use and abuse of this element that the cattle drivers get them to obey them (…) We would like to know who performs the ringing in the farms of the Islands, and if it is controlled by the responsible organisms»
“The reasons why the Canarian Government justifies this activity are based on something that we have already heard relatively frequently in other demonstrations in which the animals are the guests not to have funthat is to say: the recovery of a deeply rooted tradition (which is not true), and the promotion and breeding of cattle of the Canarian breed and the Palmera breed».
Regarding the rod, which is referred to on the website of the Canarian Drag Federation as “aguijada”, the veterinarians affirm that “we do not know how it is used to teach these animals and in the training to which they are subjected for their preparation. We have not found images or videos in this regard, but we do know, from behavioral studies in bovines, that any previous experience that has been aversive for them and has caused them fear and painfar from leading them to get used to its repetition, It leads them to suffer even more each time they experience it.«.
An activity financed by all
The Canarian Drag Federation, established in 1998, is the central body of the activity. Being the recipient of large subsidies (more than €60,000), it is obliged to publicly reflect the public income received. However, the information on its website only details some of the contributions: €200,000 from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries corresponding to two direct subsidies for carrying out trawling contests in Tenerife, Gran Canaria and La Palma corresponding to the years 2020 and 2022, and 80,000 euros from the Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports in the same exercises.
According to the Transparency website of the Government of the Canary Islands, this Federation was one of the 487 Canarian entities that received more than 60,000 euros in public subsidies in 2019; Specifically, the number was €139,971.48. Obtained an average score of 2.5 on the Transparency Index (TI) after submitting the mandatory transparency report.
In 2015, the Cabildo de Tenerife signed an agreement with the Federation for €20,000 in concept of promotion of the activity. In 2016, the Government of the Canary Islands injected €135,000 for the promotion of native livestock breeds, and the Ministry of Agriculture contributed €85,000 more for the realization and organization of drag contests. In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture again subsidized with 18,000 euros, to pay in 3 installments, all the publicity of the drag acts in the Canary Islands.
On the other hand, the Canarian Association of Drag, Promotion and Breeding of National Basto Cattle (ACA) received compensatory aid for the COVID19 crisis from €146,000 in 2020, but the data is not available on its website, and it appears in the Transparency list as one of the «subsidized entities with more than 60,000 euros that did not present their self-assessment in the first year in which they were summoned to do so. If they persist in not providing data, they will be classified as non-compliant.
In 2022, the area of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing, of the Cabildo de Tenerife will allocate €30,000 to the “preservation and improvement” of the native livestock breeds, specifically the Basta cow and the Tenerife goat, through two subsidies granted to the National Association of Tenerife Goat Breeders (Acricati) and the Canarian Drag Association, Promotion and Breeding of Rough Cattle, and National Breeders of Select Cattle of the Canarian Breed (ACA).
The results show more than 750,000 euros in public aid in 8 years, both for the development of the sport and for the breeding and maintenance of the animals. From PACMA they assure that this is not the total amount, since it would be necessary to add the aid of all the councils, and those that could come from smaller local administrations. The data on the number of active federated members at the time of writing this news has not been found and is not reflected on the Federation’s website.
The animalistic political formation concludes stating that the Canary Drag is an activity that it costs the islanders dearly: “It is an enormously minority practice that we all pay for, which results in the maintenance of a race that is only used (according to what they say) for that activity, and which also constitutes an act of abuse,” explains the party’s spokesperson, Yolanda Morales. “The administration can and should allocate resources to enriching activities. On an environmental level, the island is pitiful; sure you can find better things to do with €750,000 euros«.
