Interesting news from Spain, on Sunday, October 30, 2011
..........when Spanish shepherds led flocks of sheep through the streets of downtown Madrid in defense of ancient grazing, migration and droving rights threatened by urban sprawl and man-made frontiers.
Jesus Garzón, president of a shepherds council, said about 5,000 sheep and 60 head of cattle crossed the city to exercise the right to droving routes that existed before Madrid grew from a rural hamlet to the great capital it is today.
This practice, called transhumance traditionally involved around one million animals, mainly sheep and cattle.
Transhumance is an ancient tradition in which a shepherd paid 25 Maravedis, coins that were first printed in the 11th century, to be able to use the pedestrian path through the city.
The Shepherds Lamb Board was formed in the year 1273.
The leader of the Board of Spanish shepherds, Jesus Garzón, says the herders have had the right to use the ancient path for seasonal migration from the cooler highland pastures in summer to the warmer grazing areas in winter for more than 800 years but modern-day Madrid is in the way of two north-south routes.
Madrid is currently split in two by the presence of the Puerta del Sol, the town square.
The sheep crossing has certainly become an interesting spectacle for tourists when visiting Madrid in the Spring and Autumn.
