An investigation has been opened in Lucena into the death of a young donkey being used in the local Nativity play after it was sat upon by a rather large individual.
The young donkey, named Platero and weighing around 50 kilos, was one of several Nativity animals being kept in a pen and was not supposed to be touched by the public.
However, a man thought to weigh around 150 kilos jumped into the pen and on to the back of the animal for the purpose of taking a photo, which he then shared on social media.
Two days later the donkey was barely able to stand and subsequently died from massive internal bleeding. According to the animal rights organisation ADEBO, the donkey was literally squashed and then exploded.
The authorities are now trying to determine whether the excessive weight of the photo-hunter was the direct cause of death.