Most of the folk parties celebrate the patron of the town or city, or a religious event.
Animals get whipped, blinded, used as targets, burnt alive, thrown from towers and forced to run on dangerous paths, all in the name of tradition.
The most famous folk party in Italy, the Palio of Siena, hides atrocities behind the scenes. The horses they use are too fast for the ring in which the competition takes place and get heavy drugs.
Forced to run on a ring that’s not suitable for their bodies, they often get hurt so badly that they get “euthanised” afterward.
Normally an average of three horses is killed every year. Around the Palio there is a huge business based on tourism and sale of televisions exclusives.
Like modern gladiators, millions of animals are sacrificed to entertain us.
