Animal Rights Activists Stage ‘Sea Of Blood’ Protest In Pamplona

The annual Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona was the scene of a ‘bloody’ protest today in which protesters wore scarlet veils and took to the streets.

Tomorrow, July 6, will see the start of the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, a world-famous event heralded by the running of the Bulls.

Protests In Pamplona

However, not everyone agrees with the centuries-old tradition as dozens of animal advocates from PETA and the Spanish AnimaNaturalis gathered in the heart of Pamplona, today. Wearing little more than ‘horns’ and red floor-length veils, protesters urged the city to end the bullfights.

According to the activists, their aim was ‘to commemorate the animals who are chased down the streets to their death in the bullring each year.’

Controversial: The Running of the Bulls

PETA UK describes the event thus: ‘Every year, bulls are forced to scramble down Pamplona’s narrow streets as they run from a mob of tourists. They often injure themselves as they slip on the cobbled path or crash into walls in an attempt to escape the crowd.’

The outspoken animal rights organisation continued: ‘Many people who are lured into attending this cruel spectacle don’t realise that the same bulls they chase down the streets are slaughtered in the bullring later the same day.’

Reportedly, PETA has previously offered Pamplona’s mayor €298,000 to cancel the Running of the Bulls, an offer that still stands.

Speaking on behalf of AnimaNaturalis, Cristina Ibáñez said: ‘The suffering of bulls is promoted and even financed by authorities and even religious institutions in Navarra.’

Ibáñez added: ‘It sounds unheard of to say it out loud, but that’s how it is. You can’t have more confused priorities than that and a more distorted compass.’

Bullfighting’s Waning Popularity

A campaign run by AnimaNaturalis called ‘San Fermin Without Blood,’ already has more than 200,000 signatures against bullfighting.

According to statistics published by the Ministry of Culture in the period 2014-2015 (the last year in which this question was asked in the annual study 90.5 per cent of Spain did not attend any festivals.

Among the reasons given for not attending, 40 per cent said that they had no interest in the subject and 20 per cent said that they did not understand it.

The same study showed that 80 per cent of bullfights in Spain are concentrated in the provinces of Madrid, Toledo, Salamanca, Avila and Cuenca.

Currently, two autonomous communities already consider bullfighting to be abolished: Catalonia and the Canary Islands, and in another three bullfighting is relegated to a minority, the Balearic Islands, Galicia and Asturias.

Despite this the AnimaNaturalis website claims, ‘it is estimated that more than 9,000 bulls will be killed in the bullring and more than 50,000 will be exploited in popular celebrations.’