The former coach of the Vanvitellian park of the Royal Palace of Caserta was sentenced to one year in prison, where on 12 August 2020 the horse Found Goal Page he fell to the ground, killed by heat stroke. The Public Prosecutor had asked for 2 years for the death of the animal.
The trial which began in July 2022 at the Court of Santa Maria Capua Vetere thus ends with the applause of the associations Horse Angels And Work, civil parties in the proceedings. The autopsy conducted by the veterinary doctor left no escape for the former coach Orlando Paciello which certified that the animal’s death was due to acardio-circulatory failure caused by the animal’s exposure to high temperatures and the physical effort to which it has been subjected. The horse had in fact fallen to the ground just as it was transporting a carriage, in front of all the visitors, and the ASL veterinary staff on site immediately noted a very high body temperature.
«It was a long process which, however, did justice to poor Found Goal Pag, exploited beyond belief – the lawyer comments to Kodami Laura MascoloHorse Angels contact person for Campania – As was also demonstrated by the camera footage, the poor animal from when it entered until it fell to the ground he had never been able to drink, except for the few seconds in which they wet his mouth; furthermore he was subjected to continuous effort at prohibitive temperatures above 30 degrees, with a perceived even higher temperature.”
It was precisely the vet’s recognition of the difference that made the difference heat stroke as the sole cause of death, Mascolo underlines: «A veterinary estimate estimated that the temperature of the animal at the time of death could have been between 43-45 degrees, when the basal temperature of the horse is around 36.5-37 degrees. The autopsy examination by Dr. was fundamental. Paciello who certified the heat stroke of the highly dehydrated horse as the only possible cause of death.”
Well before the end of the trial, the Found Goal Pag story changed everything regarding the management of animals in the Royal Palace of Caserta: in fact, drivers’ licenses revoked in favor of golf cars, decidedly cruelty-free means of transport. The Management of the Royal Palace of Caserta justified its decision as follows: «It was immediately intended to make an eco-sustainable and respectful change towards the artistic, vegetal and animal heritage of the management of the entire Vanvitellian complex».
However, horse-drawn carriages continue to be a custom in many Italian cities such as Palermo and Rome, where every summer the high temperatures and the influx of tourists put equines to the test.
