Little by little, the tradition of misusing and treating animals with the excuse of feasts is losing strength. Lekeitio, for example: after two years of abandonment of the patron saint festivities by pandemic, this year Antzar Eguna was celebrated with great difference on 5 September, for the first time in the history of over 300 years, since all the geese used have been plastic.

The road has been gradual. In the past, living geese hung on the rope, but for decades they had been sacrificed before hanging. In 2014, however, the door opened to the possibility of replacing live geese with those of plastic, and the participating crews could decide which geese to use, real or plastic. As it picks up ElDiario.es, only 19 of the 85 grid participants in 2015 selected the plastic goose, but over the years the figures have been reversing: In 2019 65% of the participants decided not to sacrifice the goose and wager on the use of plastic goose.

Since then, this year has been the first Antzar Eguna celebrated and, unlike previous years, there has been no choice. Last August, the City of Lekeitio unanimously agreed to the use of plastic geese exclusively in the Antzar Eguna. "There is always debate, but in general I would say that it is a measure accepted by society. It was a step to take and the time has come to take that step. I believe that 99% of the population agrees," said the mayor of the town, Koldo Goitia, in an interview with Euskadi Radio.