Animal rights activists in Volos have condemned the municipality’s decision to feature a live pony inside the city’s central Christmas nativity scene, describing the practice as “passive animal abuse” and demanding its immediate removal.
In a strongly worded statement released on Thursday, the Volos Animal Welfare Group said the pony has been turned into a public spectacle, confined for hours in a small wooden structure, deprived of freedom of movement, and exposed to cold, noise and constant human contact far from its natural environment.
“The animal shows clear signs of physical exhaustion and stress,” the group wrote, adding that a second pony has also been placed in a similar enclosure outside the Holy Metropolitan Cathedral of Volos.
The activists called on municipal authorities to replace the live animals with inanimate figures, arguing that tradition does not justify animal suffering.
Mayor Achilleas Beos swiftly rejected the criticism, insisting that the pony is properly looked after.
“There is a municipal employee assigned exclusively to clean the area and provide food and water around the clock, and a veterinarian is on 24-hour call,” Beos said. “This is my personal wish: the nativity scene stays exactly as it is, with the little horse that makes hundreds of children smile every day.”
The dispute has divided public opinion in the port city, with some residents and social media users split between those who see the live pony as a charming addition to the Christmas display and those who side with the animal welfare campaigners.
The Volos controversy is the latest in a series of animal welfare disputes in Greece this winter, following heavy fines and prosecutions for cruelty cases on smaller islands and in rural areas.
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