A calf up for grabs at the bar’s trump, but the animal rights activists drop the ace
A bar in Marzabotto organizes a challenge among its customers: "Whoever wins takes home a calf". A pro-animal association intervenes and the innkeeper backs down: the prize is shopping vouchers
BOLOGNA – The most classic of bar challenges, the briscola tournament, ends in controversy in Marzabotto, in the province of Bologna. The place, which ended up in the crosshairs of animal rights activists for having offered a calf as the first prize for the tournament among the patrons, is forced to reverse gear: instead of the animal, the winner will bring home some shopping vouchers.
LETTERS TO THE MUNICIPALITY AND THE ASL
Lndc Animal Protection, which had mobilized against the bar by sending letters to the Municipality of Marzabotto, the Local Police, the Local Health Authority and the Region, claimed victory. Yesterday the news of the happy ending for the calf. “I think it’s absurd that in 2024 some people still consider animals as objects to be offered as prizes”, explains the president of Lndc Animal Protection, Piera Rosati.
PRIZE ANIMALS PROHIBITED BY LAW
“Fortunately the legislation, which goes hand in hand with the cultural evolution of our society which is increasingly attentive to animal welfare, is present and has been respected. In fact, we also remind all the citizens of Emilia- Romagna, that the regional law provides that animals, both puppies and adults, cannot be offered as prizes or winnings in games, or as gifts for any reason in the context of commercial activities, games and of shows”, recalls Rosati.
ANIMALIST VITTORIA
The animal rights association had formally asked via certified email last May 10th, more than a week before the ‘incriminated’ trump, the mayor of Marzabotto, Valentina Cuppi, to intervene and ban the activity commercial to carry out the trump competition by offering an animal as a prize and for the police to ensure that there were none present on the day of the competition. And so it was. “We are very satisfied with this victory, another important step in support of the cultural change underway and for which we fight every day“, claims Rosati.
ALL ANIMALS ARE SENTIENT BEING
“Animals, even those considered for production, are sentient beings as stated in the Lisbon Treaty of 2007, that is, they are capable of feeling pleasure and pain. For this reason they must be respected as such. It is It is necessary to educate citizens, also thanks to actions like this, to develop a healthy and increasingly necessary empathy and new awareness“, concludes the pro-animal activist.