A Bull Dies During Traditional ‘Bous A La Mar’ Festivities In Alicante Town Of Denia

A bull died in the Alicante municipality of Dénia this Monday, July 10, during the traditional Bous a la Mar celebrations.

Today was the third day of the municipality’s festivities in the Marina Alta region. It included one of the event’s most controversial activities. Activities this year commenced last Saturday 8 and will last until Sunday, July 16.

Animal rights groups have been insisting for years that this event is an aberration and that it involves the mistreatment of bulls.

However, the Bous a la Mar continues to be one of the most popular activities of the Festivities of the Santíssima Sang de Dénia, one of the town’s oldest traditions.

The incident occurred during the bullfighting show

An enclosure is installed in the port area specifically for the events, located next to the water to serve as a refuge for those who flee from the bulls that run through the temporary arena.

Municipal sources confirmed that the incident occurred at around 1 pm. In its attempt to charge the people who were assembled in the arena, the bull reportedly fell into the sea, as happens frequently in each session of this event.

However, this time the result was fatal and the creature died. A boat full of volunteers is always on hand to assist any bulls that fall into the water.

Its occupants attempted to rescue the animal but to no avail and it would appear that the bull drowned. A post-mortem examination will clarify the exact cause of death.

The afternoon sessions will go ahead as planned

Following the tragic accident, the rest of the morning’s Bous a la Mar sessions were suspended. Raúl García de la Reina, in his first year as the Councillor for Fiestas, confirmed that the afternoon shows will go ahead as planned, from 7pm, according to lasprovincias.es.

He added however: ‘We will take precautions’, in case there are any protests from the anti-bullfighting activists. One such protest took place yesterday morning in the town. They declared the festivities that take place during the Festival of National Tourist Interest, as ‘animal abuse’.