The Mayor of Almuñecar, Juanjo Ruiz Joya, has responded to the accusations leveled against his administration over the state of the Municipal Riding School.
He was joined by the Councillor for the Environment, Luis Aragón, who produced a report from the Environmental Department of the Guardia Civil that “clearly shows that the horses and installation are well looked after.”
Mayor Ruiz Joya said he was “surprised” by the accusations levelled, “which don’t hurt [my] administration but rather the town, itself,” he considered.
He said that if the socialist, opposition party had a the merest suspicion that the animals there were mistreated then they should have made an official complaint [to the police] because that was what he would have done. Instead, he accused, they were only looking for a headline.
The Councillor for the Environment pointed out that the socialist have picked out a horse at the end of its natural life; thus confusing an aged animal with one that was being mistreated – it is between 30 and 35 years old, he said, whereas the average lifespan for a horse is 25 years. He concluded that the owner hadn’t wanted too have it put down because of the affection he holds for it.
(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)