regional customs
Five injured in dangerous bull hunt in Pamplona
A fighting bull walks among the people on the third day of the running of the bulls during the “Sanfermines” festival. photo
© Alvaro Barrientos/AP
So far, 15 runners have been injured in the traditional bullfight in Pamplona since Friday. The animals react in panic to the unfamiliar crowds in the streets of the city.
During the third chase, there were sometimes dangerous scenes because several bulls fell on the pavement despite anti-slip means, lost contact with the herd and, disoriented, attacked runners in the narrow streets. As a bull attempted to grab a man standing right in front of him, another runner was able to distract the bull at the last moment by tugging hard on the tail from behind.
Animal rights activists complain that for the animals the bull hunt is actually nothing more than a panic flight through the crowds, which are completely unfamiliar to them. It is animal cruelty that must be stopped immediately.
The centuries-old festival in honor of the city saint San Fermín began on Thursday and will end next Friday. Every day in the early morning, six fighting bulls, some of which weigh more than 600 kilograms, and several tame lead oxen are chased through the narrow streets of the old town to the arena. This is where the bullfights take place in the evenings.
Dozens of runners are injured every year in the courage tests of the predominantly young men over the 825-meter-long route. There have been 16 fatalities since 1924, the last in 2009. There are eight runs in total.