News » 12 Iconic Photos From PETA’s Protests Against the Running of the Bulls

12 Iconic Photos From PETA’s Protests Against the Running of the Bulls

  • Amy
  • Published on 1 July, 2016

Spain’s gruesome San Fermín festival, which includes the infamous Running of the Bulls as well as the ritual slaughter of dozens of animals, starts on Wednesday.

Before the carnage and bloodshed begin, however, PETA will be turning up to protest and make sure the cruelty doesn’t go unnoticed. Protests like this have been happening every year since 2002.

We can’t give away the details of this year’s demonstration just yet, but here’s a look back at how our friends and we have been standing up for animals in Pamplona over the past 14 years:

Pamplona holding a sign
Naked activists created a ‘river of blood’ flowing from Pamplona’s bullring last year.
Pamplona face paint
These deathly ‘matadors’ took over Pamplona’s streets in 2014.
Pamplona coffins
2013: 48 coffins for each of the 48 bulls who are killed at the San Fermin festival.
Pamplona stop bullfighting text
The message of our 2012 protest speaks for itself.
Pamplona human bull shape
Activists used their naked bodies to make the shape of a bull in 2011.
Pamplona bleeding and spears
2010: Bloodied and speared like bulls in Pamplona’s main square.
Pamplona activists with signs
Encouraging tourists to face up to the ‘naked truth’ about bullfights.
Pamplona bubbles
A joyful, fiesta atmosphere at 2007’s protest.
Pamplona crowd of activists
Passion, nudity and bullhorns in 2004
Pamplona met by police
More than 150 naked protesters were met by riot police in 2003 – but didn’t let that stop them.
The year that started it all: the ‘Running of the Nudes’ in 2002 inaugurated a new tradition of protests in Pamplona.

Finally, here’s a reminder of what these protests are all about – and why won’t stop until the cruelty stops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yMZnorg3O4

Where We Are Now

Things have changed a lot since PETA UK first started protesting in Pamplona. A wave of anti-bullfighting sentiment is sweeping Spain, and to date more than 100 towns across the country have banned bullfights. Last year, Pamplona’s mayor even said he was considering holding a public consultation on whether to end bullfights and bull runs in the city.

But we still have a long way to go. Clueless tourists are still coming to take part in the Running of the Bulls – supporting horrific cruelty to animals, and often horribly injuring themselves in the process. And hundreds of animals still face horrible deaths in Spain’s bullrings every year.

Help boost the anti-bullfighting movement by joining our campaign to get more Spanish cities to ban these barbaric events.

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