World · Europe · 2 hrs ago
Sheep and goats parade through Madrid for annual transhumance festival
About 1,250 sheep and 160 goats crossed central Madrid on Sunday for the annual Transhumance Festival.
The event celebrates transhumance, the traditional movement of livestock between seasonal pastures.
Shepherds guided the animals along a changed route, avoiding Puerta del Sol, where housing activists have set up a protest camp.
The protests followed the eviction of an 87-year-old woman, who died in hospital shortly afterward.
In Madrid, a symbolic payment of 50 maravedís for every thousand animals recalls an agreement dating to 1418 that allowed herds to pass through the city.
The festival also highlights how grazing can clear flammable undergrowth and reduce wildfire risks.
Transhumance is declining in Spain as modern farming methods and the movement of people from rural areas have reduced the number of shepherds who continue the practice.
Thousands of sheep and goats crossed central Madrid on Sunday for the annual Transhumance Festival.
The procession took a changed route to avoid a housing protest camp at Puerta del Sol.
Reports counted 1,250 sheep and 160 goats, while one article described the flock as 1,400 animals.
The festival recalls the seasonal movement of livestock between pastures and promotes the cultural and environmental value of traditional grazing.
At Plaza de la Villa, officials held a symbolic payment ceremony linked to an agreement dating from 1418.
- Who
- Shepherds led the flock of sheep and goats through Madrid.
- What
- The annual Transhumance Festival brought livestock through the city. Its route was changed to avoid a protest camp.
- When
- Sunday, October 25, 2026.
- Where
- Central Madrid, Spain, from Casa de Campo through the city streets.
- Why
- The festival celebrates the tradition of moving livestock between seasonal pastures and highlights its cultural and environmental value.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
An agreement allowed shepherds to pass through Madrid with their flocks in exchange for a payment.
Madrid began holding the Transhumance Festival.
The flock entered central Madrid from Puente del Rey on a route changed to avoid the protest camp.
Officials staged the symbolic payment ceremony at Plaza de la Villa.
- Sheep
- 1,250 reported
- Goats
- 160 reported
- Alternative flock total
- 1,400 animals, according to El Confidencial
- Route change
- The procession avoided Puerta del Sol
- Symbolic payment
- 50 maravedís per thousand animals
4 sources
What people are saying
It allows us to remember the value of the countryside and the farmer
the best way to preserve and maintain the fields so they remain productive and fires do not occur is precisely livestock farming and agriculture