Goat throwing was a festival celebrated in the town of Manganeses de la Polvorosa, province of Zamora, Spain, on the fourth Sunday of January. The festival coincided with the commemoration of Saint Vincent the Martyr.
Background
It is unclear when the tradition of throwing a goat from the belfry of the in the town of Manganeses de la Polvorosa began. The festival coincided with the commemoration of Saint Vincent's saint's day. If the goat survived it was revered and paraded through the small village, becoming a local legend for years to come. The event was organized by young men, , and were now eligible for military service. ==Animal rights==
Animal rights
Spain has a number of festivals that involve some sort of animal cruelty. Among them are burning the bull, donkey baiting, shaving of the beasts (Galicia), garrotting the galgos, quail catapulting, Day of the Geese, running of the bulls, and bull fighting. Over the years, animal rights groups demanded an end to the practice of throwing the goat. In 1992, the local governor banned the toss. The villagers used ropes to lower the goat, but in 1993 they went back to dropping the goat from the church. Once again, the practice was banned in 2000. A toy plush goat was thrown in the 2014 celebration. == See also ==