The streets of Madrid, Spain, belonged to the sheep on Sunday.
In what has become an annual demonstration, shepherds guided about 2,000 sheep through the streets of Spain's capital to reassert age-old grazing and migration rights that have become increasingly strained by urban sprawl.
With bells clanking along the route, the sheep parade caused a spectacle for tourists and city residents alike. Sheepdogs assisted the herders as the river of wool wove its way through blocked-off avenues.
Shepherds have guided their sheep through Madrid in a similar manner for the past 22 autumns as a sort of public show highlighting their rights to the seasonal livestock migration routes they've held since at least 1273, the Associated Press reported.
Thing is, Madrid is a lot different today than it was more than 700 years ago. What was once a countryside town has become a sprawling urban metropolis, cramping and taking over historic droving routes.
Government agriculture spokesman Carlos Cabanas told the AP that the traditional mass herd through Madrid is also essential to "maintain native breeds that are in danger of extinction."