??POLICE have located eight camels and a llama found walking through the streets of Madrid after escaping from a nearby circus.
A probe has been launched to look into how the animals managed to escape from the Quiros circus, located on the Via Lusitana, next to the Islazul shopping center in the capital.
The animals were due to take to the centre stage at the circus performances scheduled between November 12 to January 23 in Carabanchel.
A spokesman from the National Police confirmed that the animals were spotted at the intersection of Calle de Aguacate with Via Lusitana, not far from the circus and returned to their owners.
Circus organisers said the camels and llama escaped after the circus was ‘sabotaged’ by a ‘radical’ animal rights group.
A statement from Quiros Circus said the camel enclosure had been broken into and claims that a group of radical animal activists who have been ‘harassing them day and night’ were behind the release of the animals.
They added that the animals returned home ‘without any injury and were rescued a few minutes after they escaped’.
A police inquiry is ongoing.
Stricken animal shelter on Spain’s Costa del Sol back in action