Running of the Bulls Cancelled Again; Bulls Spared a Bloody Death
Great news for bulls: the San Fermín festival and the infamous Running of the Bulls event have been cancelled for 2021.
This is the second year in a row that the festival won’t be going ahead because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mayor of Pamplona, Spain, must stop allowing terrified bulls to be stabbed to death for this barbaric event for good.
Why Ban the Running of the Bulls?
The Running of the Bulls is part of a barbaric bloodbath that takes place every summer during the San Fermín festival in Pamplona.
The tourists – including many Australians– who visit the city during the festival often don’t realise that the same bulls who slip and slide down the cobbled streets during the bull runs are later tortured to death in the bullring. Throughout the week-long festival, at least 48 bulls are violently stabbed to death.
What Spanish People Think About Bullfighting
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 tormented and killed.
PETA and the San Fermín Festival
PETA UK has been teaming up with Spanish animal rights groups every year since 2002 to organise eye-catching protests in Pamplona in which hundreds of activists, including Australians, have taken a stand to draw attention to the cruelty of the bull runs and bullfights.
We’ve been calling for an end to this cruel spectacle for years, and now, under rather unique circumstances, the event has been called off – but it shouldn’t take a global pandemic for this to happen. It’s time for authorities to recognise that the ritualistic torture of bulls has no place in a compassionate society and cancel the event for good.
What You Can Do
Please join us in urging the mayor of Pamplona to ban the Running of the Bulls and subsequent bullfights permanently.
Let’s make 2025 a historic year for animals
