Spanish town bans bizarre duck-chasing seaside festival

Society changes course as time moves on, says local mayor, as the resort bans the century-old tradition

By James Badcock, Madrid4:37PM GMT 02 Mar 2016

The Costa Brava resort of Roses has decided to ban a century-old tradition in which locals chased ducks in the sea as part of the town’s summer festivities.

The bizarre “hunt the duck” festival has been taking pace in Roses for 97 years, but last August’s celebration drew negative publicity when a participant used one of the unfortunate birds to strike an animal rights protester who was filming the event.

The video, in which an angry woman in a swimsuit swings a duck at the camera, has since been seen 360,000 times on YouTube. Animal rights organisations such as Spain’s national Pacma party called for a ban on the event in which white ducks are thrown from a boat into the sea for bathers to catch in return for prizes.

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