The image of thousands sheep instead of cars is a classic one one Sunday a year in the early Autumm in the streets of Madrid. Many could think that it is a curious tradition of the old Spain.

Actually migration of sheep and cattle still is a very important economic activity in this country in which sheep, goats and cattle take advantage of the pastures growing along the paths they walk in long journeys from one to other region.

These journeys mean a month walk for sepherds, donkeys, mastiffs and dogs along hundreds of kilometers on these paths acompanying sheep and cattle in search of fresh pastures.

The migration it's related with the climatic conditions of Spain. Having two clear climatic regions : the wet to the North and the dry one to the Center Plateau and South. The matter consists in adapt the stay of sheep and cattle to the growing of natural pastures. So when the dry season begins at the end of May, they go up North some 800 kms, arriving to the mountains they stay there for the Summer season. At the end of September before the cold arrives to the mountains, back again to the South.

This movement has been for centuries the economic activity of many people. Wool and meat were the reason in which the owners of these flocks, in the 13th Century, got from the King the rights of passing along these paths that cross the country in a very thick net with 125.000 kms and 1% of the nation's surface.

For centuries was always the same, flocks and herds travelling up and down the Iberian Peninsula marking the change of the seasons. But everything changed after the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, here it's the starting point of the decline of this economic activity. The seasonal pass of sheep was interrupted becuase the fronts of war were stablished in many ocassions in the mountains were flocks used to stay during the Summer time.

After the war, the traditional structures of the old Spain began a period of strong social changes. The development of urban centers and the industry located there atracted many peasants that left the traditional country costumes. We can say that the 1950s and 1960s were the crucial years when the migration of sheep and cattle changed violently. A strong process of changes modified the physical structure of the Spanish geography : a lot of new roads, damps, urbanizations and infraestructures broke the net of these traditional paths. Being a shepherd was an activity without social support. It was, and still is for many, the image of the anacronism and some to be hidden "behind the bush", until now. Fortunately, a small group of people coming from the just born ecologist movement in the 1970s started a long fight to regain this ancestral rich patrimony of 120.000 kms of paths, about to be lost in two decades.

The action of different persons and ecologist groups got to put into law the traditional rights not reflected in a formal way.

So in 1995, the Spanish Parliament backed the Vias Pecuarias Law, law of sheep and cattle paths. Then what was a customary law began to be of compulsory one for the Spanish society. For many this law was considered as a strong shield to protect these paths, but they were mistaken as the reality has shown.

Private and public robbers of these public paths continue invading them : from petrol stations to cementeries, from public works as roads, highways and public buildings to damps and supermarkets including golf sites camps and private housing.

Unfortunately the robbery means that up to a 30 % of these paths have been invaded or stolen. All the Spanish citizenship have lost thousand of kilometers of these public paths, with the shameful colaboration of both many regional and local administrations all over the country. The exceptions, unfortunately, were not the rule.

One of the bloodiest example of invasion is the Golf Site of Las Rejas in Majadahonda, close to Madrid, that ocuppied the path named "Vereda de San Antón", 21 m. wide in almost 3 kms. long and it is a work of the local municipality. This Camp Site it's just in the way that the flocks coming to Madrid have to take, so the flocks were obliged to give march in urban pavement through this city.

The combined decision of ECOLOGISTAS EN ACTION group and the shepherds to cross the golf site arrived when the the flock of 1400 sheeps, 100 goats passed across after the cut of the wire fence made by the ecologists. The shepherd and shepherdess owners of this flock lead the group before the surprised faces of gulf players and the angry reaction of the golf site managers.

The comitive was acompanied by dozens of ecologists, friends and media journalists ( radio, television and press ). Both the Local Police and the Guardia Civil advised that the action was made without a legal permission but their attitude was not to forbid it. In a certain way they were acepting that the decision was in the hands of the Justice and the Judges have the word to qualificate the action and at the same time, telling that we were right. No violence was the best solution.

The simbolic image, for occasional, but real pass of sheep and goats through this camp site was transmitted all over the world.
What was behind this action it's a lot of rage and frustration of many people before the robbery of this paths all over Spain.

The long week-end in Madrid had as one of the peak news, the presence of the flocks in the capital. From now we hope that shepherds and their friends as hikers, mountain cyclist, horse riders and many others, could feel that they are coming better times for them when marching along thousands of kilometers of migration paths. They were born to practise a sustainable activity in the Middle Ages, and still very valid for this 21st. century.

© Juan García Vicente
ECOLOGISTAS EN ACCION November. 4th. 2001