Several people have been injured in bull hunting in Spain

At least five runners were injured in the third bull run of the traditional “Sanfermines” festival in Pamplona, ​​northern Spain, on Sunday morning.

At least five runners were injured in the third bull run of the traditional “Sanfermines” festival in Pamplona, ​​northern Spain, on Sunday morning.

One man was caught in the arms of a fighting bull with long, pointed horns, state television broadcaster RTVE reported. The man and a second runner were taken to hospital, while three others were treated at the scene. Since Friday, a total of 15 runners have been injured in the popular and controversial event.

Beast and man hurt each other

During the third chase, there were sometimes dangerous scenes as several bulls fell on the pavement, lost contact with the herd and attacked the runners in the narrow streets. When a bull tried to catch a man standing in front of him, another runner managed to distract the bull by pulling its tail hard from behind at the last moment.

Animal rights activists complain that bull hunting for animals is really nothing more than a panicked flight through a crowd they are completely unfamiliar with. Animal cruelty must be stopped immediately.

Questionable courage

The centuries-old festival in honor of San Ferm, the city’s patron saint, begins on Thursday and ends next Friday. Early each morning, six fighting bulls, some of them weighing more than 600 kilograms, and several tame lead bulls are chased through the narrow streets of the old town to the arena. This is where bullfights take place in the evenings.

Dozens of runners are injured every year in tests of courage, mostly by youngsters, on the 825-meter long course. There have been 16 deaths since 1924, the last in 2009. A total of eight runs.

SDA