That’s the naked truth about the Running of the Bulls and PETA can’t ‘bare’ to see the bloody tradition continue.
On July 5, two days before this year’s first bull run, about 1000 PETA activists plan to take their message to the streets of Pamplona for the sixth annual ‘Running of the Nudes’, the group’s ‘compassionate and sexy alternative’ to the bull run.
Having travelled from the four corners of the globe, the protesters will shed their inhibitions (and their clothes) and adorn themselves in plastic horns and anti-bull fighting slogans to walk the length of the bull-run route to tell the world that tradition is no excuse for animal cruelty.
“Bullfighting is an outdated, barbaric tradition that has no place in modern society,” argues PETA campaigns coordinator Lauren Bowey. “We want all travellers to think a bit more about the consequences of their support for this event.
“By watching or participating in the running of the bulls, they are effectively supporting animal cruelty.
“No matter what the cultural or historical relevance of bullfighting is, the simple fact is that it involves subjecting an animal to incredible torture for entertainment.”
It’s not just foreign campaigners who feel this way, either. According to an October, 2006 Gallup survey, 72 per cent of Spaniards and 80 per cent of Catalonians have no interest in bullfights. And although the sport is still legal, the anti-bullfighting movement is gaining momentum in Spain.
In April 2004, the Barcelona City Council declared Barcelona an anti-bullfighting city with the intent of eventually banning the sport altogether, and 43 other Spanish cities have followed suit. Even more promisingly, the Catalonian Parliament last year debated a bill that would expand existing animal cruelty laws to include bullfighting.
In light of this overwhelming national opposition – it’s a similar picture in Portugal and the south of France, where bullfighting also persists – it’s now largely tourists that are keeping the sport alive.
“The worst thing is, is that 90 per cent of tourists are disgusted by what they see, and leave their first bullfight before it’s over, but the damage is done as soon as they pay for the ticket,” Bowey says.
Even in Pamplona, where bullfighting is heavily ingrained in the local identity, there is growing support for PETA’s campaign. Indeed, visitors can now purchase Running of the Nudes merchandise alongside the conventional bull-run T-shirts and souvenirs.
“More and more locals are embracing the nude run every year – they think it adds to the fun of the festival,” Bowey says. “And that’s been our plan all along.”
PETA hopes the infamy of the nude run will continue to grow to the extent that it might eventually dwarf and replace the Running of the Bulls and the ensuing fights.
“The bull run is just one element of the festival – there’s so much more to see and do,” says Bowey. “We just want to make people realise that you can still have a great time and experience the delights of San Fermín without supporting an outdated tradition based on cruelty”.
Bullfighting: the hard facts
More than 40,000 bulls are slaughtered in Spanish, Portuguese and French bullrings every year.
Handlers weaken the bulls for days before the fight. Sometimes the bulls are fed laxatives, drugged and weighed down with heavy sandbags to drain them of strength and energy.
A study found 20 per cent of bulls were also given anti-inflammatory drugs to camouflage existing injuries and intentional bruising.
Before the matador enters the ring, a picador stabs and cuts the muscles in the bull’s neck, so the bull cannot lift its head.
