RESCUING ACTION FOR PORTUGUESE HORSES

When you hear the word 'Portugal' - what do you think? 300 sunny days a year. Fabulous coastlines, charming towns, the Azores archipelago and Madeira, the island of eternal spring. Plus the Palace of Mafra, the Douro River Valley and the Bom Jesus Sanctuary. The land of poets with Fernando Pessoa, port wine and cork oaks in the Alentejo and the turquoise sea. You wish you were there right now.

Meet a different face of Portugal today. A face that will make you shed a tear. Not just one. A whole sea of them.

Our Portuguese contact, Jose, lives near Lisbon. For the last few months, our activists have been working together to register a Centaurus subsidiary right there. Because the Spanish one is almost up and running. More than 100 horses have come from Spanish slaughterhouses to Poland over the last few years. They have found homes in Sweden, Germany, Poland and Austria. Jose has been rescuing horses on his own for many years. Portugal, although so beautiful, shocked us with the photos we got from Jose.

We named him Julius. Her photos were the first we received from Jose. Extremely emaciated, tied with old rope, probably to lift her. Bruised, with bones and wounds sticking out. Today, she has become the symbol of Portugal for us. She stands at the kill buyers’ place and waits. Waiting to die.

Along with her, 22 other horses are waiting. At different prices, in different conditions. Out of these, 18 horses are in very poor condition, requiring immediate veterinary attention. Four are feeling slightly better. But this does not change the fact that at the end of March, their lives will end.

Yes, Portugal is far away. Probably as far for you as it is for me. But I stare at these pictures and I know perfectly well that no one can help. Jose has used all possibilities and connections. The trader gave him time until the end of March to pay off the horses.

Collapsing barns, scattered mangers, sagging roofs, thick ropes, a barn full of darkness and excrement. No water, and no one feeds the horses. Some may not live to see their own execution. But nobody cares. Such a life of Portuguese slaughter-horses.

Centaurus has been rescuing horses from all over Europe for years. We rescue without borders. We rescue horses with you and thanks to you. We have horses from Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Spain, and Ireland, but today horses need help thousands of kilometres away.

Although it's a huge action, I'm looking at a rainy, gloomy sky today. And I know that under that same sky, those few thousand kilometres away, they are standing there waiting. And the Portuguese will not help them.

So the action begins. A big action. Please, Europe, help. Help save them. They have no one. Be that someone for them who will bring them rescue.

Join the action.

Join us.

Collecting together

The more we fundraise, the more horses we rescue.

The horses will first go to Jose, a vet will see them there (about €160 per horse) and they will probably have to wait there for a month to recover (€150 per horse for food and water, because in Portugal you also have to pay separately for water in such a situation).

Homes are needed too. For each and every one of them. Adoptions have no limits either - if you have the means, please adopt one of these horses. Of course, if necessary, the horses will come to us, but in the first instance, we are looking for adoptive homes for them, so that they can go there for the rest of their lives as soon as they arrive. It is important to point out that most of these horses may never be fit to be ridden. Please remember that the horses are coming from a warm climate - warm stables and stalls are needed, but a derrick is also helpful.

Are you helping them with us? Are you with them?

We are raising a huge amount of money. Tens of thousands of euros. And in fact, the more we fundraise, the more of them we will rescue.

Maybe you can buy back one horse, maybe you can donate $10, or maybe €2. Or €150. Every penny counts. Their clock is ticking. We'll keep you posted on how much we've managed to raise, how the transport preparations are going, etc.

The cost of transporting 23 horses to Poland is approximately €23,000. Buying back the horses (they cost between €400 and €1,750).

Please, let's stand up together today! For them! Let no borders divide us. After all, it's under the same sky.