Following the news that this year’s San Fermín festival – and the infamous Running of the Bulls event – has been cancelled because of COVID-19, PETA UK fired off a letter to the mayor of Pamplona, Spain, offering the city a quarter of a million euros if it permanently ends the cruel bull runs and subsequent bullfights.
In her letter to the mayor, PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk calls for an animal-friendly version of the festival:
“We hope you’ll accept our offer. Together, we can begin planning a 2021 San Fermín festival that everyone – including animals and their protectors – will applaud.”
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.
Many of the tourists – including many Australians– who visit the city during the festival 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.
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
According to an Ipsos MORI poll, 80% of Spanish people oppose bullfighting. Approximately 56% fewer official bullfights took place in 2018 than in 2007 – and it’s time to put the final nail in this dying industry.
Please join us in urging the mayor of Pamplona to ban the Running of the Bulls and subsequent bullfights during the San Fermín festival altogether and replace them with a humane, animal-friendly alternative.
Let’s make 2025 a historic year for animals
