Kiwi backpackers should bypass Pamplona Bull Run

New Zealand tourists and backpackers should bypass the Pamplona Bull Run in Spain this week, says the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

Spain’s Last Fiestas de San Fermin with its daily bull runs and bullfights has long been a ‘must do’ for New Zealanders on their OE.

WSPA’s Regional Manager Kimberly Muncaster said it was concerning that New Zealand holidaymakers, particularly backpackers, were being encouraged to experience “running with the bulls, as if it were some heroic rite of passage.”

“The Pamplona Bull Run is a cruel and violent event, where terrified and stressed animals are forced to run on slippery cobbles, often ending in injuries such as broken legs, whilst being tormented and taunted by noisy crowds.”

“The bulls finally arrive at the gates of the bullring only to be subjected to 20 minutes of torture by a variety of lethal weapons followed by an inhumane and untimely death. It is also a dangerous activity for the crowds of tourists and locals and has led to deaths and injuries over the years.”

“I urge New Zealanders to join the international fight to end this cruel sport by boycotting the Pamplona Bull Run. If you would not support a bull run and fight being hosted in your own home town, you should not support it overseas,” she said.

WSPA, in partnership with Spanish member organisation, Associacion para la Defensa de los Derechos de los Animales (ADDA), is engaged in a successful campaign against bullfighting in the Spanish region of Catalonia.

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