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The night of this Saturday, December 19, was marked by “Cristina’s Noite” on TVI, a program whose main theme was Christmas. Despite being a “ready to use” format, the basic idea was to hold a baby shower to welcome Jesus, with María Cerqueira Gomes wearing María’s skin.
Much of the program took place in a nativity scene set up in the studio, with bales of straw, sheep and even a cow, Leonor. But although the intention was to achieve a scenario as realistic as possible, the presence of the great animal was not perfect. At one point during “Cristina’s Night”, the cow became agitated and ended up freeing herself from the caretaker, breaking into the study, without anyone being able to control her at first.
The moment, broadcast live on TVI, was widely shared on social media and highly criticized. From the mere presence of the animal in a television studio to the fact that a child was put in danger, the wave of criticism has rocked the internet.
What happened didn’t just go viral on Twitter. On Instagram, presenter João Manzarra, known for defending, among other causes, animal rights, spoke about the event. “This horse is my neighbor. This horse has its life. This horse does not have to go to the studio. That is my life,” he said in a publication, without directly commenting on what happened in Cristina Ferreira’s program.
The theme went from television to the public sphere, and both the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) and the People-Animals-Nature party (PAN) have strong positions in relation to the events of the TVI special program.
Talking to MAGG, SPA “strongly condemns the use of any animal for exhibition and entertainment purposes”, taking into account that it is a situation, like many others at Christmas time, in which “it is common to observe the use of grazing animals as if they were objects,” says the organization. In addition, he describes as “absolutely irresponsible the subjection of a child to this framework, due to the risks that it entails, and that unfortunately is so common to observe in various events”.
Referring in particular to “Cristina’s night”, and in general to the use of animals for entertainment purposes, the Society for the Protection of Animals adds that “any animal is a being endowed with conscience, and must be respected, protected and welcomed as such “.
Inês Real, parliamentary leader of the PAN, also points out that “it is not reasonable to bring an animal of that size to the study.” “We are talking about animals that, from the point of view of their behavior, can be easily scared in a strange and stressful context”, Inês Real tells MAGG, adding that the situation represents a series of risks “for the people who were in the place, but on the other hand, also for the physical integrity of the animal, which could have been injured when trying to escape.”
In that sense, what we would really like to appeal to, knowing that sometimes the Christmas season lends itself to wanting to reproduce, in some way, what the manger could have been, is that it is important for people to realize that regardless de The purpose for which the animals are raised must be treated with respect, dignity and that their place is not really in these contexts ”, says the deputy.
This position is clear for the PAN party, which already in last year’s electoral program indicates, with respect to detained animals, that “they must be guaranteed a dignified existence free of abuse, respecting their natural characteristics.” and behavioral “.
What happened “Noite de Cristina” is not the first time that the animals are around a controversy related to Christmas. The PAN deputy gives an example of the situation that happened last year in the capital of Natal, in Oeiras, in which two reindeer were released on display. They ended up being removed from the enclosure after several photographs of the animals lying on a wet and muddy carpet were shared on social networks, inside a wooden fence.
Regarding the situation this Saturday, Inês Real highlights: “It is really important to realize that there are appropriate moments and situations, such as a piece made outdoors, in which the welfare of the animal is fully safeguarded”.
The parliamentary leader of the PAN was not indifferent to the danger created for the child who was in the study. “Taking into account the risk for the child, who could have been injured, it is still curious to draw the parallel with what happens in bullfighting. Now we are going to have a ban so that children and young people cannot participate in bullfighting shows and in fact, the consternation and concern that occurred just in that context is precisely the same ”, says Inês Real, making the parallel with the proposal presented in November. Prohibit the presence and participation of minors in bullfighting shows.
Inês Real qualifies the episode this Saturday as something “that went very wrong” and leaves the alert to “people with influence, such as Cristina Ferreira”, that the important thing is that there is “a more pedagogical message for families in relation to the way in which we owe the treatment of animals and the environment in which they should be “. However, the deputy is the first to admit that, on other occasions, the presenter and director of Entertainment and Fiction of TVI has already sought to publicize these matters.
The deputy also highlights that she believes that nothing that happened was deliberatebut maintains that “there was a lack of perception that this episode could have gone very wrong.” “The media, particularly television that enters the home of many people, here has a very important role to play in raising awareness about respect for animal rights and their well-being. It is important that they stop having this type of initiative, which ends up being regrettable, because they do not benefit the program or guarantee respect for animal rights ”, Inês Real underlines.
“It is not the fault of the animal itself, it is just the negligence of those who put it in the study”
Rúben Miguéis, a zootechnical engineer at Vetfarm, a veterinary clinic for farm animals, tells MAGG that he carefully watched the videos of the Leonor cow incident on TVI and does not understand the factor that caused the agitated behavior in the cattle. However, he points out a number of logical reasons.
“It must be an exhibition animal accustomed to fairs, to people. But the fact is that we are talking about lights, palms and everything else that the animal is not used to, even if it is an exhibition animal”, says the expert. These domesticated animals are used to being in halters (which guide the bulls), to being with people and always accompanied by the keeper.
The zootechnical engineer argues that it was not a cow from the field that was in the study, “it would be unthinkable to do that,” he says. “This animal, from what I saw, is also a domesticated animal. Something happened to it that caused a reaction.”
“How many times have we had, for example, calm horses in the studio. But there was a situation where a horse kicked live,” he recalls. Rúben Miguéis says that sometimes the animal may not want to hurt you, but it has a reaction of joy that, due to its large size, can have serious implications for a human being. “I think before that [levar um animal para estúdio], there is a risk that must be calculated “, says the zootechnical engineer.
So what are the solutions for controlling a large animal in a television setting? Besides being essential that only the assistant is by his side, the person who knows him, it should also be avoided that a presenter or a child makes “parties, because they do not know what the reaction is”, and that an “Animals escape” a, “If a problem arises, it’s easy to get out,” suggests Rúben.
In short, whether in “Cristina’s Noite” or in any other program, Rúben emphasizes that “it’s a risk.” “It is not the fault of the animal itself, it is just the negligence of those who put it in the study and do not have the necessary security measures,” concludes the Vetfarm specialist.
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