Powerful photos taken by activists from the Spanish group Tras los Muros tell the distressing story of what happens to bulls at the annual San Fermín festival in Pamplona, Spain, each July. Aussies account for the biggest proportion of foreign runners at the cruel event. The revellers who chase animals through the city’s streets in the morning may not understand how the festival ends for those same animals.
These photographs bring the full horror to light.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Before the fight, horses are blindfolded to prevent them from running from the bullring in terror. They’re often injured during the course of the violence.
A picador on horseback prepares to plunge a metal lance into a bull’s back. These armed men will twist and gouge the lances into the animal’s flesh to impair his ability to move.
The matador torments the bull, who is already exhausted, injured and bleeding.
Exhausted from blood loss, the bull collapses as the matador strikes.
A young child watches the carnage, despite a ruling from the UN that exposure to the violence of bullfights goes against the rights of children.
The spectacle is over – but the bull’s suffering is not.
Still alive, he lies on the ground, bleeding profusely.
He’s dragged across the floor, leaving a trail of blood.
The bull is hauled up by his foot, before his throat is cut and he’s left to bleed to death.
That’s the end for this animal – and thousands of others will be killed in the same slow, terrifying and painful way in the name of a “tradition” that most Spanish people don’t want to preserve.
What You Can Do
Never attend or take part in any bullfights or bull runs. Please also sign and share our petition to the Prime Minister of Spain asking him to outlaw these cruel events.
Let’s make 2025 a historic year for animals
