Social media users shared photos and videos of the incident. Credit: @MontiBcn
The eight-year-old animal, raised in Cerdanyola, died during the parade in the Sant Antoni district, forcing a change of route and the cancellation of the animal blessing.
What was meant to be a grand commemorative celebration of 200 years of the Tres Tombs parade in Barcelona’s Sant Antoni neighbourhood was overshadowed on Saturday, 3rd May by the sudden death of a horse, which collapsed on Parlament Street.
An eight-year-old horse died this Saturday during the bicentenary celebration of Els Tres Tombs in Barcelona. The incident occurred at 11:11 am, shortly after the parade began, at the junction of Parlament and Borrell streets. The animal’s death sparked a wave of criticism from animal rights groups, political parties, and onlookers who witnessed the scene.
As part of the anniversary, one of the most popular processions of the Tres Tombs festivities—a parade of carriages that ends with the blessing of domestic animals on the feast of Saint Anthony—had organised a national gathering this weekend, featuring 70 carriages, 200 horses, and 600 traginers (cart drivers in Catalan) from 95 towns across Catalonia.
In Barcelona, the Tres Tombs parades take place in the Sant Antoni and Sant Andreu districts. The name derives from the tradition of parading three times (or tombs, in Catalan) around the neighbourhood.
Following the incident, the organisers altered the route, diverting the parade along Manso Street while the horse’s body remained covered in the street awaiting removal.
The fallen horse lay on the tarmac, covered with a red blanket, and blocked the parade for some time until a truck arrived to drag it away.
The Animalist Party PACMA, which denounced the incident on social media, has announced it will consider legal action against those responsible for both the animal and the event’s organisation: “PACMA will consider possible legal action against those responsible for both the horse and the organisers, who take lives every year.” In the same tweet, they added: “It’s disgraceful. Animals are not here for this. You have no shame,” posting images of the horse on X (formerly Twitter).
The horse collapsed
After the end of Els Tres Tombs, animal rights groups Free The Animals and Girona Animal Save held a protest outside the Guardia Urbana station, gathering around twenty people.
The horse collapsed two hours before the main festivities began. Although efforts were made to revive it with water, it was too late. Veterinarians have stated that a post-mortem is needed to determine the exact cause of death.
Meanwhile, the Foundation for Advice and Action in Defence of Animals (FAADA) attributed the horse’s death to a possible heart attack brought on by the stress of the parade. “We call on authorities to regulate Els Tres Tombs and put an end to this suffering,” they wrote on social media.
The group Police for Animals also questioned the official version: “If the cause is still unknown, how can they claim the animal wasn’t suffering?” On social media, dozens of users described the event as a case of institutionalised cruelty. “Els Tres Tombs is a display of animal abuse. No horse deserves to die like this,” many wrote. While the post-mortem will determine the precise cause of death, initial reports suggest the horse may have suffered a heart attack.
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