The controversy at Ortega de Santa Cruz continue.
Before the death of a crocodile in the traditional activity of Good Friday, the College of Veterinarian Doctors of Costa Rica raised the voice and flogged what happened.
Apparently, the animal died of an indigestion as a result of the stress and harassment it suffered. However, both the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the Constitutional Chamber have endorsed this Guanacaste tradition, as long as the integrity of the animals is not harmed.
The veterinarians said
such situations where an animal is tortured through the terror of a persecution and its capture by a multitude of people without any technical criteria, nor a proven scientific interest are unacceptable.”
According to veterinarians, this activity only seeks to satisfy the pleasure of some settlers and some visitors to catch the reptile.
We urge all members and citizens in general not to participate, promote or support in any way these acts of cruelty that far from dignifying us as a country and society, show us as barbarians before our own and strangers,”
said the group in a statement.
A video released by the Association for Animal Welfare and Protection (ABBA) showed the moment when the lizard was dying inside a pool.
According to its organizers, the lagarteada is a 200-year-old tradition of capturing a crocodile or alligator and then take it to the village square to release it the next day.
The animal is caught in the rivers Tempisque, Cañas or Las Palmas.
The rage spread to social networks, where a digital initiative seeks to collect signatures to reverse the tradition.