Colombian senator enters Congress with his horse, claiming it is his “pet”

Congress member Alirio Barrera walked into the legislative palace next to his white horse, surrounded by news crews.

“If a cat or a dog and all of these animals are allowed to enter, why shouldn’t an animal such as this one?” he asked. “I was saying, this animal is less dangerous and makes less harm than many of the politicians that have passed through here, and some – just some, not all- who are still here, harm the people more. This is a helpless animal.”

The lawmaker’s move is part of a protest against initiatives that could prohibit certain activities involving horses such as cattle herding.

Starting this week, Colombian congress members will be allowed to take their pets to work with them.

The politician, who was also governor of the livestock department of Casanare, has stated that his horse, named ‘Passport’, helps him in his tasks in the fields and has considered this decision of the President of the House is a good opportunity to show the work of “the country’s peasants, who number more than 15 million, today mostly use a horse, a mule to transport food and work”.

In this sense, the politician has also wanted to express his opposition to reject the bill that seeks to prohibit the use of animals for daily work. He has specified that his intention is to increase awareness and not to cause discomfort, although from some parts of the public opinion, including own congressmen, have stated that it is a “pantomime”.

Despite the commotion, the senator has been able to access the building with his horse since the dictated rules did not specify what type of pet could be entered. It was the president himself who on September 20 took his dog, adopted during the pandemic and named ‘Covid’, to the institution to announce the measure and say that everything had been done in conditions “of cleanliness, vaccine and prevention”.