Ass was not for sitting on

18 December 2014 - 02:08 By ©The Daily Telegraph
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Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

Animal lovers in Spain have reacted with fury after a young donkey, being kept in a pen as part of a nativity scene, died after being sat on.

The donkey, named Platero, was part of the annual Christmas celebrations in the town of Lucena, in Cordoba province.

He was kept with other animals in the nativity - and was not supposed to be touched by the public.

But on December 10 a man climbed over the fence and sat on the small animal's back.

Two days later the donkey was unable to stand, and was taken to a vet where it had to be put down.

Two animal rights organisations have complained to police.

"The donkey was literally squashed by a man," they said in their complaint.

"The man tried to pose 'galloping', with his almost 150kg of weight on the fragile body of the animal, squashing it to death."

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