--- description: Thousands of sheep walked through the streets of Madrid in celebration of Fiesta de la Transhumancia on Oct. 23, 2016. title: Thousands of Sheep Walk Through The Streets Of Madrid image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c0dd2600ef561f/6988ab542dce013b259eb270/sheep-heard1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Thousands of Sheep Walk Through The Streets of Madrid by [Tyler Essary](/author/tyler-essary/) ## Tyler Essary Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 7:20 PM CUT  Shepherds guide sheep in the streets of Madrid during the annual celebration of transhumance. Shepherds guide sheep in the streets of Madrid during the annual celebration of transhumance.Marcos del Mazo—Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images by [Tyler Essary](/author/tyler-essary/) ## Tyler Essary Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 7:20 PM CUT The grass was greener on the other side for the thousands of sheep that walked through Madrid during Fiesta de la Transhumancia (Transhumance Festival), on Oct. 23, 2016. The tradition started as an ancient agricultural practice of moving a flock of sheep from one field to another to prevent overgrazing. The migration happens twice a year as the animals move from higher altitudes during the summer and lower altitudes during the winter, the [Digital Journal](http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335714 "undefined") reported. The area’s shepherds struck a deal in 1418 that allowed the animals to walk through the city freely, however they had to pay a toll of 160 maravedies. A few shepherds still pay in the medieval currency in memory of the deal. According to the [National _Post_](http://news.nationalpost.com/news/spanish-shepherds-lead-2000-sheep-through-madrid "undefined"), the number of animals that take part in Transhumance has dropped from a million to a few thousand because of urban farming. The Ministry of Agriculture has been keeping the tradition alive by promoting the festival since 1994.  Shepherds guide sheep in the streets of Madrid during the annual celebration of transhumance. Marcos del Mazo—Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images  People have drinks at a bar as shepherds lead a flock of sheep along the streets of Madrid city center during the annual livestock migration festival. Pablo Blazquez Dominguez—Getty Images  A shepherd leads a flock of sheep along the streets of Madrid city center during the annual livestock migration festival. Pablo Blazquez Dominguez—Getty Images  A boy runs by as shepherds lead their sheep through the centre of in Madrid, Spain. Daniel Ochoa de Olza—AP  People take photos as shepherds lead their sheep through the centre of Madrid, Spain. Daniel Ochoa de Olza—AP  Sheep are mustered along the streets of Madrid city center during the annual livestock migration festival. Pablo Blazquez Dominguez—Getty Images  Shepherds lead their sheep through the centre of Madrid, Spain. Daniel Ochoa de Olza—AP  Shepherds lead their sheep through the centre of Madrid, Spain. Daniel Ochoa de Olza—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4543025/sheep-madrid-fiesta-de-la-transhumancia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4543025/sheep-madrid-fiesta-de-la-transhumancia/"},"headline":"Thousands of Sheep Walk Through The Streets of Madrid","datePublished":"2016-10-24T19:20:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:23.920Z","description":"A shepherd's delight","url":"https://time.com/4543025/sheep-madrid-fiesta-de-la-transhumancia/","keywords":["photography","Spain","Madrid","sheep","migration"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c0dd2600ef561f/6988ab542dce013b259eb270/sheep-heard1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tyler Essary","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tyler-essary/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c0dd2600ef561f/6988ab542dce013b259eb270/sheep-heard1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Shepherds guide sheep in the streets of Madrid during the","caption":"Shepherds guide sheep in the streets of Madrid during the","creditText":"Marcos del Mazo—Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4543025/sheep-madrid-fiesta-de-la-transhumancia/","name":"Thousands of Sheep Walk Through The Streets of Madrid"}}]}] ```