"Continue, continue. Continue to abuse, I am filming you. A little bit of empathy for the animals. They also have a life, like your children or your family,” said an ornery animal rights activist as a woman bashed him over the head with a live duck. The video below shows the attack, both in real-time and slow-motion.
Spain is a country with many bizarre and, at times, controversial festival traditions. In this case, it was the annual “duck chase” in the Spanish town of Roses, where about 50 ducks are thrown into the Mediterranean and then caught by swimmers who then return them to the shore.
The strange holiday began in 1918 and has happened every August since. But, it appears the mayor of Roses, Montse Mindan, is thinking about putting an end to “duck chase.” He hopes to hold a referendum in which residents will decide whether or not to continue to celebrate the tradition or not.
While the ducks aren’t killed, Animal Rescue Espana, the group to which the duck-battered cameraman belongs, argues that the chase is cruel to the animals since the ducks apparently suffer “stress, internal hemorrhaging, pain, fear and suffering.”
This isn’t the only strange festival Spaniards celebrate. While it is famous for the Running of the Bulls, many people wouldn’t know Spain is home to traditions that challenge men to tear a goose’s head from its neck or throw goats from the tops of church towers.