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

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

He was being held with other animals in the Nativity - and were not supposed to be touched by the public.

But on December 10 a man climbed over the fence and, in a photo widely shared on social media, sat on the small animal's back.

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

Two animal rights organisations, Asociación de Defensa del Borrico (Adebo) and the Círculo Animalista de Podemos Lucena, have complained to police, who have begun an investigation. A vet is being asked to determine the cause of death, and if it is due to the man sitting on its back then the town hall has said it will take legal action.

"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."

Online Editors