Why I took to the streets of Pamplona to call for an end to the ‘Running of the Bulls’ - Tania Isabel

That’s why, ‘trapped’ in a medieval torture device and wearing little more than a pair of ‘horns’, I joined other activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Spanish animal protection group AnimaNaturalis. Taking action in the heart of Pamplona was a surreal experience: the display was silent yet said so much, commemorating the animals needlessly killed annually in bullrings and calling for an end to the torment.

The Running of the Bulls is held over eight days during Pamplona’s San Fermín festival. Each day, a rocket is launched to startle groups of bulls (uncastrated males) and steers (young neutered males) into running through the tight city streets. The bulls, already tired after enduring long, stressful journeys to the festival in the summer heat, are then chased and prodded by hordes of – often drunk – people. It’s not uncommon for the frightened bulls to be injured during the run, and every year hospitals are full of humans who’ve been gored and trampled. At the end of the run, which can take up to 30 minutes, the bulls are forced into a ring where, one-by-one, they will be killed.

Once inside the ring, each bull becomes the victim of a bloody spectacle. Tormenters stab him with harpoon-like banderillas and a lance, leaving him disoriented and weak from blood loss. The matador then provokes the bull into lunging and attempts to stab him through the heart with a sword. If the caped killer misses the heart and punctures the bull’s lungs instead, the tortured animal will die in agony, drowning in his own blood.

The entire process is a theatrical farce in which the bull is the unwilling jester – and the ultimate objective is to kill him. If the matador kills the bull, the animal’s ears and tail will be cut off as grisly trophies. If not, an executioner is brought out to sever the spinal cord, which often does not kill the bull but paralyses him, and he will be dragged from the arena still conscious as the next victim is goaded in.

PETA and other animal protection groups have been protesting against bullfighting for decades, and change is happening – in Spain and beyond. Earlier this year, the Congress of Colombia passed a historic law banning bullfighting, creating a blueprint for other countries to ban the barbaric practice, too.

Spaniards are turning their backs on such cruel, archaic pursuits, and today more than 125 Spanish towns and cities have taken a stance against bullfighting. Surveys indicate that just 8 per cent of the Spanish population attends bullfights.

As ethical tourism becomes more popular and people turn their backs on animal exploitation, travel companies – which once marketed the Running of the Bulls to naïve tourists as a ‘bucket list’ experience – are also ending their promotion of trips that harm animals.

Tania Isabel is HR manager at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She is based in Sheffield.