54 Activists Lie ‘Dead’ in Running of the Bulls ‘Crime Scene’
Today, 54 protesters staged a “crime scene” cordoned off with yellow tape in Pamplona, Spain. The supporters of PETA and Spanish animal protection group AnimaNaturalis represent each of the bulls who will face a bloody death in the city this month after being chased through the streets during the infamous Running of the Bulls.
© Esa Ennelin
Activists from the UK and other countries around the world – including Ireland, Australia, and the US – joined Spanish protesters in speaking out against this cruelty by lying down “dead” inside outlines of bulls on a piping-hot square in the city centre.
Banderilla props – representing the weapons used to stab bulls during bullfights – stuck out of the protesters’ backs. The demonstration reminded onlookers that bulls are made of flesh, blood, and bones – and feel fear and pain, just as humans do.
The activists were surrounded by signs proclaiming, “Bulls Killed in Pamplona” and “Stop Bullfighting.”
What Is the Running of the Bulls – and Why Is It Cruel?
The protest took place two days before the start of the notorious Running of the Bulls spectacle, in which terrified bulls are chased through the city streets to the bullring. They’re then kept in the arena until that evening, when they’re tortured to death in a bullfight.
Brits flock to the Running of the Bulls along with other tourists, all seemingly oblivious to the likelihood that every single one of the terrified animals they chase through the cobbled streets will be dead a few hours later after being repeatedly stabbed in a bullfight.
What Spanish People Think About Bullfighting
The protesters represent the vast majority of people around the world – including in Spain – whose tolerance of the vicious spectacle that is bullfighting ran out long ago.
More than 80% of Spanish people oppose the blood sport, and approximately 56% fewer official bullfights took place in 2018 than in 2007, but these sick displays are able to continue in large part because of tourist money. Thrill-seekers fail to realise that running with the bulls means participating in a festival in which animals are tortured to death.
It’s time that Pamplona stopped allowing terrified bulls to be stabbed to death for this barbaric event.
What You Can Do to Help Bulls
Many tourists who attend bullfights are horrified by what they see and would never have bought a ticket if they’d known how violent it would be. By that point, though, it’s too late: the bullfighting industry has already pocketed the money, and the bull has endured a torturous, ritualistic death that no amount of remorse can undo. The only way to shut down this abusive industry is by refusing to support it in any way – please stay away from the San Fermín festival, and never attend a bullfight.
PETA and other animal protection groups have long been speaking out against Pamplona’s annual bloodbath – and you can do the same:
And please spread the word!
