Last Friday a man was killed during the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. The 27 year old man, Daniel Jimeno Romero, died after being gored in the stomach by a disoriented bull during the run.
As the annual festival wraps up today, the total death toll will near 49 at this year's brutal event. But unlike Mr Romero, the 48 bulls who are tormented and killed during the festival did not volunteer to take part.
While the people in this race may be running for their lives the bulls are litertally racing towards their deaths. After being poked with electric prods and sharp instruments and a terrifying and hazardous run through the slippery cobblestone streets, the bulls' run ends in a bullfighting arena.
Once the bulls are in the ring, the odds are heavily stacked against them. In bullfights, the bull may be drugged or even have the muscles on the back of his neck cut to prevent him lifting his head during the 'fight'. Men on horse back thrust barbed sticks into the bulls back until he is weak and drained of blood. Then the matador enters the ring to taunt the injured animal until he collapses. Finally the matador sticks a blade into the bulls heart to kill him.
Sometimes the matador misses the bulls heart and the animal doesn't die. When this happens, another person comes in to finish off the animal, usually with a knife. It can sometimes take as many as another 30 stabbings to finally kill the bull.
This is not my idea of a festive occasion, or a must see tourist event. I can understand the thrill of cheating death, but not at the expense of someone else's life! If people really want to face their fears and take on a challenge, perhaps they should take a few pointers from Steph Davis. Steph is a vegan free-solo climber (ie. she climbs cliffs without any safety gear and then base jumps off the top). Now that's a thrill without the carnage!
If you're disgusted by the running of the bulls, you might like to write to the Spanish Ministry of Tourism ([email protected]) to let them know you wouldn't consider visiting Spain whilst they continue to abuse and kill bulls.
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btw ... there's a great piece in The Onion on Spain's determination and vigilance in their war on bulls (joke): http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30771
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"The beasts hide in the nation's pastures, quietly ruminating over their vicious agendas," Zapatero said. "They often lie dormant for years, posing as innocent calves until they expose themselves as the brutes they are. Then, they attack in arenas, when the crowds are at their maximum capacity, in order to incite fear and shock among the citizenry."
"posing as innocent calves"...?
That has got to be the biggest load of b.s I have ever read!
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Silly me
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there is nothing manly or tough about cutting the back of a bulls neck just so it cant even lift its head to proctect itself, all for power
what gets me is the amount of people who travel to see it. It sends a bad message that behaviour like that is still accepted in this day and age. shame shame shame!
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thats just disgusting.how can you do that to an animal when they cant even fight back?
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