08/03/2011

(2011, March 11)

Following the tragic outcome of the trial run of the “Corsa a Vuoto” of Ronciglione, IHP (Italian Horse Protection Association ) and ENPA (Ente Nazionale Protezione Animali , Italy’s organization for the animals’ protection) have filed charges against the organizers of the Palio of Ronciglione with the Public Prosecutor Office of Viterbo, for violating the sections 544 bis and 544 ter of the Italian Criminal Code (Abuse and killing of animals).

Below, an interview with Avvocato Marco Ungar from Florence, IHP’s trusted defence attorney.

Q: Avvocato Ungar, the images of the Palio of Ronciglione are dismaying: how could such a dangerous event – dangerous for horses and people – be organized? How could it happen?

A: Being the Palio of Ronciglione a historical event, there is a specific legislation safeguarding its organization. However, it has to be clear this kind events are held only with specific authorizations. The Law states these events have to be organized following some requirements, to guarantee the safety of the equines involved. The Health Minister’s Ordinance of 21st July 2009 explicitly mentions the racecourse ground and the safety collision bulkheads. In this specific case, the use of metallic street barriers and making the horses run over an old, rain-slick stone-paved ground raises doubts about the liability of the organizers of Palio of Ronciglione.

Q: Could it be avoided? Were the organizers’ authorizations legit?

A: Absolutely yes, it could have been avoided. The images clearly show the horses’ impossibility to keep their balance. In front of such imbalance, the barriers should have been special collision bulkheads, able to resist and adsorb the impacts. The fact the ground was not covered with a suitable running surface, is not just cruel for the horses, but also anachronistic. The Palio of Ronciglione has indeed a Medieval origin, but up to the years after WWII, it was run over a packed-dirt road and not over stones and tarmac. On the other hand, as far as we know, it was these on two points – ground and protections – that the Health Minister’s attention focused, when it denied the authorization to the Ronciglione Commune.

Q: Law enforcement officers attended the event: why none of them stopped the horses from being started off at gallop over the rain-slick tarmac?

A: I can’t know it yet.

Q: A horse tragically died, others were injured: what kind of crimes can we hypothesize?

A: Law 189/2004 has introduced some crimes against the animals, even introducing prison time for who inflicts cruelties or unnecessary causes an animal’s death or injury. Unfortunately, there are exceptions to the regulations for recognized historical events. Such exceptions can be applied exclusively after all the protective measures necessary to avoid tragic consequences for the animals have been put into effect—as prescribed by Health Minister’s Ordinance of 21st July 2009. In this case it’s possible to hypothesize the crimes of animal killing (section 544 bis of the Italian Penal Code) and animal abuse (section 544 ter).

We show here a video of the incident. Warning: these images are suitable for adult audiences only.


Video: 5 marzo 2011, Palio di Ronciglione

Related article: Horror in Ronciglione – Request of explanations to the Authorities