Menorca's festivals, in the spotlight

PalmaThe sudden death of a horse in the middle of the square during the Fornells jaleo has reopened the debate on animal suffering in Menorca's festivals. The fatal heart attack suffered by the 22-year-old equine named Emperador, the constant complaints from animal rights groups, and the high temperatures recorded during the summer due to successive heatwaves have highlighted the need to take additional measures beyond those already in effect with the entry into force of the Animal Welfare Law.

The veterinarian Kike Parpal, who was on duty in Fornells when the horse's death forced the suspension of the jaleo, has publicly stated in favor of reducing the events or rethinking the schedules of the jaleos, which coincide on the main days with the hottest and sunniest hours.

Suddenly, all eyes have turned to Migjorn Gran, where Menorca's next horse festival, Sant Cristòfol, is celebrated. The City Council has taken precautions and, after reaching an agreement with the Junta de Caixers, the Rectory, and the Music Band, has moved Sunday's jaleo forward by two hours to start at 10 a.m. instead of 12 p.m. To make this possible, it has postponed the mass with the aim of preventing the cavalcade from being exposed to the hottest hours. Furthermore, it has shortened one lap of the jaleo, installed marquees to provide shade in the streets where the cavalcade passes, and placed drinking troughs at the street corners. A hose is also available should any horse need to be cooled down.

The decision to bring forward the jaleo, unprecedented until now, could be followed by other municipalities that, like Alaior, es Castell and Maó, celebrate the central act after the Caixers Mass. In Ferreries and es Mercadal, on the other hand, the horses begin to jump in the square before midday.

The protocols at the festivals

The death of Emperador has been an unprecedented outcome in recent years, and very remarkable for having happened in front of hundreds of people, when the horse was in the square. But horses dying during festivals is nothing new. Several knights consulted assure they are aware that some have lost their lives at other times during the festival, during a break for vespers or simply waiting for a relay. "But nothing different from what can also happen to people when so many gather," comments one of those consulted.

In 2022, the Department of Culture attempted to get ahead of the application of the Animal Welfare Law to prevent it from affecting the festivals in Menorca. The then-councillor Miquel Àngel Maria promoted the formation of a working group led by the Menorcan rider and veterinarian Sergi Olvera (from the UAB), which ended up drafting a protocol that required reviewing the health of each animal before it participated in the festival to detect and prevent pathologies. The protocol was sent to all the town councils, which since then have hired a on-call veterinarian for each festival, but the impression is that the application of these recommendations has been relaxing. An experienced knight who this year rode as a caixer in the Sant Jaume del Castell festivals believes that "horses suffer the same as people. The more accustomed and in better physical shape they are, the less nervous they will become and the less they will suffer. A caixer who rides for the first time will also get stressed right away, but with the passing years they will feel more comfortable and will know how to enjoy the experience better."

He himself says he has "reserved" the horse during the festivals for the moments he really has to push it, especially the minute and a half that, on each lap of jaleo, it passes through the square. "But I haven't done all the jumps they asked for, and in the remaining hour, I've taken it to drink in the shade and made sure it recovered," he says.

He is clear that "the person who commands it, who takes care of the horse, influences it a lot." In this regard, he believes that the current "fever" to ride in the Menorca festivals – only in Sant Joan in Ciutadella is participation restricted solely to farmers – "means that more and more riders are renting horses to be able to participate. And of course, you don't take care of an animal that is yours in the same way as one that has been lent to you for only a few days."

In a few years, the number of stalls has multiplied and, consequently, the duration of the jaleos has also lengthened. An added danger in times like the current one, of heatwaves and where climate change further hardens the conditions. “Personally, I would remove horses and thus make the events last less. But who tells the riding clubs that they have to rent fewer horses and show fewer riders at qualcar?”, he asks.

When the new Animal Welfare Law was approved, not a few voices predicted that this was the beginning of the end of the Menorcan festivals. It already seemed that we would not see any more jaleos or caracoles with horses, nor the man of the lamb of Sant Joan carrying the lamb on his shoulders for twelve hours straight. But nothing further from reality. Years later, nearly a thousand horses are registered to participate in the 14 festivals held on the island, between Sant Joan and Sant Nicolau which, as the saying goes, “locks up the festivals with a key”.

In fact, the Consell promoted in the previous term the declaration of the set of Menorcan festivals as Intangible Cultural Heritage, but the heritage recognition finally did not prosper due to differences between them and due to the fear that greater promotion would further increase the massification of the events. An argument similar to the one that, 20 years earlier, had already stopped the Ciutadella City Council from proposing to Unesco that the Sant Joan festivals be declared World Heritage.

But the danger now no longer comes from outside, but affects the very heart of the festivals. Only the Menorcans can regulate that the most representative display of their popular culture does not get out of hand.