By: CECÍLIA PIRES
RODEO ORGANISERS are asking Animal, an animal rights organisation, for compensation after it requested that a court ruling be passed to stop their Brazilian rodeo from taking place last Saturday in Estoi, near Faro.
José Paula Brito, president of Estoi Parish, one of the organisers of the event, told The Resident that the court order was issued unexpectedly on Friday afternoon by Faro Civil Court.
The ruling aimed to stop the national rodeo championship, Campeonato Nacional de Rodeo, which was one of the main attractions of the annual Horse Festival in Estoi last weekend.
Other organisers of the event were José Manuel Carvalho, president of the Portuguese Rodeo Association, and the preliminary board of the friends of the horses association, Comissão Instaladora da Associação Amigos do Cavalo.
After being informally informed of the court’s decision, “we only had time to send an appeal to the Court on Friday before its closing time of 4.30pm,” José Brito said. As the Court confirmed reception of the appeal that same afternoon, the event went ahead on Saturday afternoon.
“In our appeal, we explained that the rodeo event did not include acts of violence against animals, neither did it include pain inflicting equipment like that used in countries where these shows are traditional,” he said.
Scandalous
In an official statement, Animal said it was “scandalous” that Faro Câmara and Estoi Parish were sponsoring the event.
By disrespecting the court ruling, organisers face a fine to the tune of 15,000 euros.
In a statement to the press, the animal rights group describes rodeos as “extremely violent shows that are being partially forbidden even in their home countries, like the United States and Brazil”.
José Brito refuted Animal’s arguments and said that because “the legal action triggered rumours that the police would be at Estoi on Saturday to stop the event from happening, many regular visitors of the festival chose not to attend.” This, he said, “led to a considerable loss of revenue for us and the other organisers who are also planning to ask for compensation”.
Although the GNR were at the event, the president of Estoi parish told The Resident no fines were issued.
Do you have a view on this story? Email: editor@the-resident.com
