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Dozens of animal rights activists dressed as dinosaurs were chased by other demonstrators in the streets of the Spanish city of Pamplona to protest alleged cruelty at the San Fermin Bull Festival.
During protests, dinosaurs are supposed to represent bulls, and the chasing mob symbolizes San Fermin revelers.
Activists held placards that read: “Bullfighting is prehistoric.”
The key, they say, is to show that running can be relaxing and enjoyable without any cruelty to the animals.
The action marks the 18th annual protest, led by Humane for Animals (Peta) and Spanish NGO AnimalNaturalis.
The protests are usually held the day before the festival, with a traditional “chupinazo” firework explosion at noon in Pamplona’s Town Hall Square. Running starts on Thursday.
Chelsea Monroe, Peta’s senior digital campaign officer, said: “Bullfighting is a long, ritualized execution of bulls, and many tourists who come to a bullfight don’t actually realize they’re running down several streets with the same head. The bull was later killed at the bullring that day.
“They were stabbed again and again for 20 minutes until they died.
“We want tourists to know that their money is supporting this very cruel industry.”
The protests have not dampened enthusiasm for San Fermin, which typically sees Pamplona’s population of 200,000 balloon to about 1 million at the height of the nine-day festival.
The festival has been suspended for the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities are concerned that crowds during the festival could also lead to a sharp increase in infections this year.
The highlight of the festival is the early morning “encierro” or run, in which thousands of people frantically run to avoid the six bulls and rush down a winding cobblestone route towards the city’s bullring.
The rest of the day is spent eating, drinking, dancing and cultural entertainment.
Every afternoon during the festival, six bulls are always killed in a bullfight.
“The debate about the future of bullfighting in Spain has never been more lively and the authorities must take a clear stand,” AnimalNaturalis’ Jana Uritz said in a statement.
“We ask them to have the necessary courage to say whether they approve of animal cruelty or, on the contrary, are prepared to ban this kind of brutality.”
Although the movement against bullfighting has gained momentum in recent years, bullfighting is still very popular in Spain.
The sport is only banned in the Canary Islands, although little or no in some other regions such as Catalonia and the Balearic Islands (including Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza) Do this exercise.
Citing figures from the Ministry of Culture, animal rights groups said 90 percent of Spaniards did not attend any festivals involving bulls in 2014-2015, the last year the issue was investigated.
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