A horse died while pulling carriages filled with passengers through Seville in Spain during a record heatwave. Videos of the incidents have led to an investigation into potential animal abuse.
One of the videos, posted by animal welfare organization Rescate de Aves, showed bystanders next to a horse who collapsed. A man is seen throwing water on his head, but the animal died. The horse had collapsed next to a busy road on Wednesday.
“Although there was a complaint, police made no move to confiscate their (the horse carriage owners) license,” said Rescate de Aves coordinator Carlos Moreno, whose colleague took the video. Moreno added that a second horse showed signs of dehydration but was forced to continue working.
Seville’s emergency services said that the owner of the two-horse carriage is being investigated for possible animal abuse.
The carriage appeared to carry people who came to visit the Seville Fair, which takes place every April. Over 1,000 licenses have been issued to operate horse-drawn tourist carriages at this year’s fair.
Spain’s state weather agency AEMET said that this April will be the hottest since records began, with temperatures in some regions reaching 40C.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, another horse collapsed at the Seville Fair, as seen in a video posted on Twitter by PACMA, a political party advocating for animal rights.
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