02/09/2026

On Sunday 6 September, in Fagagna (UD), the Donkey Race takes place — the centrepiece of the 136th September Festivities, running from 3 to 13 September. The event's food menu features gnocchi, donkey goulash and "Donkey Burger". IHP Italian Horse Protection is calling for the race to be abolished. "The coexistence, within the same programme, of the donkey race and the consumption of meat from the same species precisely defines the conception of the animal that this event expresses. A conception that IHP finds unacceptable," says IHP president Sonny Richichi. The association is firmly opposed to the use of equines in any traditional or folkloric event: donkeys exposed to crowds, noise, intense physical exertion and forced restraint are subjected to stress conditions documented by scientific studies. IHP is also firmly opposed to the slaughter of equines and the consumption of their meat, and calls on Parliament to urgently approve the legislative proposals currently under discussion — starting with Bill A.C. 48, lead signatory Brambilla — which aim to recognise horses, donkeys, mules and hinnies as companion animals, prohibiting their entry into the food supply chain. "The Fagagna Donkey Race is not merely an event that violates animal welfare principles: it is an event that, within the same programme, makes donkeys race and then serves them at the table," Richichi adds. "We are calling for it to be abolished."