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Loading...Driving Sheep through Madrid Streets
On the rocky hills of Brieva de Cameros, paths made by summering flocks of sheep and goats form a tracery of paths. As winter nears, shepherds herd the animals to warmer winter pastures. As it has for centuries, the route leads through one of the busiest cities in Spain—Madrid.
Though it means threading their animals through the traffic of a major city, Spain’s shepherds continue to defend their ancient grazing lands and the annual migration between winter and summer pastures. The Transhumancia, as the migration is called, relies on the land to feed the livestock instead of on the massive inputs of fossil fuel required by the industrial model of farming, where animals are trucked instead of driven and may have limited access to healthy grazing.
The traditional paths, Cañadas Reales, cover some 125,000 km of Spain. Although they are legally protected, they are increasingly threatened by developments that bar the way. (The Spanish video linked here includes footage of the Madrid portion as well as parts of the route.)
The Cañadas Reales pre-date agriculture, tracing the same paths used by wild animals and followed by hunters. With domestication came the need for livestock to be moved to fresh pastures so that fresh grass and water could be available in any season.
Spanish conservationist Jesús Garzón sees the 7,000-year-old grazing system as a solution to today’s environmental problems. In a Spanish documentary about the Transhumancia tradition, he says:
It improves soil fertility, creates ecological migration routes to prevent species from extinction, ensures the distribution of seeds across hundreds of miles so they can get into new ecosystems and other ecological niches, stimulates the population of beneficial insects, and ensures that water seeps into the ground.
Garzón says the grazing migration provides stable work while preserving an ancient tradition. Since the young learn from the old and young researchers and volunteers study and assist with transhumancia, it also narrows the generation gap. Though threatened by development, the annual migration continues, a tribute to the past and an investment in the future.
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Read more: animal welfare, animals, merino sheep, spain
Photo of transhumancia from cirano18 video on YouTube
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32 comments
+ add your owna good tradition worth keeping
AS LONG AS THEY ARE SAFE AND WELL TAKEN CARE OF AND TREAED RIGHT!!!!!!!
Thank you. I love sheep. They are the symbol of peace - the lion and the lamb shall lie down together.
A good tradition! Thank you for the article, very informative.
I would love to be in Madrid watching all these animals stopping the traffic.
Do we really need to eat these poor beasts? Maybe we should always protect their land but not for slaughtering reasons. Let's protect this land because it is a natural right for a living planet to be protected from destruction.
Must these "farmers" own 1000's of sheep? No. They want to make a buck from selling their "products."
As long as not one single sheep is harmed, why not. Otherwise no.
Right now we don't have a heck of a lot of traditions being followed or upheld (it seems only in Spain do we hear about traditions). I think more traditions would make the world a better place. The only problem with that is that it might cost the greedy some money if the traditions got in their way.
It would be lovely to see animal rights become priority. We are far from it and we continue to do everything to exterminate whatever beautiful there is in this world.
Their sheep need to be protected as well as their grazing routes.
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