Animal Guardians in Spain: Spanish Fiestas
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An Introduction to Spanish Fiestas that Harm Animals
Although bulls are mostly used in these spectacles of cruelty, other animals, such as geese, donkeys, goats, and horses are victims of these bloodsports.
Below are a few of these annual festivals.
TORO DE LA VEGA
The “Toro de la Vega” is a medieval bull festival celebrated in the town of Tordesillas (province of Valladolid, Spain). The tournament consists of — depending on the sources — the fight, hunt, or chase of a bull by hundreds of lancers, in which some of these will try to lance the bull to death, after he has been released through the streets of the town and led to an open field by the runners and participants. If the bull surpasses the limits of the tournament, or the lancers are not able to kill him, he will be ‘pardoned’.The festival is celebrated yearly depending on the date of the Virgen de la Peña festivity (September 8). In recent years, this festival has acquired increasing notoriety as a result of the protests against it, which denounce the cruelty and suffering to which the bull is subjected, as well as the negative picture of the town and the whole country created by the survival of this tradition in the 21st century.
TORO EMBOLADO
A toro embolado (in Spanish), bou embolat (in Catalan) — roughly meaning bull with balls — is a festive activity, typical of many towns in Spain (mainly in the Valencian community and Southern Catalonia), in which a bull that has balls of flammable material attached to his horns, which are set on fire, is set free in the streets at night, and participants dodge the bull when he comes close. It can be considered a variant of an encierro (correbous in Catalan). This activity is held in a number of Spanish towns during their local festivals. In recent years, animal welfare activists have attempted to stop this practice because of the cruelty to the animals.The bull is usually tied to a post and then teams of people prevent him from moving while a wooden frame with two spikes with balls of flammable material is attached to his horns. These are then set alight and the rope is cut. Sometimes fireworks are attached, too, which then go off shortly afterwards. There is usually a barricade separating the bull from the spectators.
RUNNING OF THE BULLS
The Running of the Bulls (in Spanish: encierro, from the verb encerrar, “to corral, to enclose”) is a practice that involves running in front of a small group of cattle, typically six, of the toro bravo breed that have been let loose on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town’s streets.The most famous running of the bulls is the eight-day festival of Sanfermines in honor of Saint Fermin in Pamplona, although they are also traditionally held in other places such as towns and villages across Spain, Portugal, in some cities in Mexico, and southern France during the summer.
The origin of this event transpired from moving bulls from the fields outside the city, where they were bred, to the bullring, where they will be killed in the evening. During this ‘run’, youngsters would jump among them to show off their bravado. In Pamplona and other places, the six bulls in the event are still those that will die in a bullring that afternoon.
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Take action for the animals abused for fiestas in Spain
Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (SHARK) lists numerous ways you can help end bullfighting. Visit this page and follow the suggestions about you can lend your voice to end the cruelty of the so-called bullfight … Read More
Ferias of Nimes festivals in France are held twice a year and last for 5 days. They centre around bullfighting (the corrida) and are held in celebration of the bull and its fighting spirit. Throughout … Read More
At a cruel event, ducks are thrown into the sea and brought back to shore by people who race to capture them. An animal rescue organization that has helped the ducks in the past has … Read More
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News and noteworthy about Spanish fiestas
Animal rights campaigners claimed a “historic” victory in Spain on Tuesday when the region of Castile & Leon banned the Toro de la Vega festival, in which men compete to spear a bull to death. … Read More
The southern Mediterranean city of Valencia has banned a longtime tradition in which bulls are set loose on neighborhood streets with flaming balls of wax or fireworks affixed to their horns. Mayor Joan Ribo cited … Read More
Animal rights activists won a partial victory in a decadelong campaign on Thursday when a Spanish region banned the killing of bulls in a notorious ritual in which thousands of people each year chase a … Read More
Sharon Townsend, 41, formerly of Eardley Road, wants people across Bexley to create banners and send snaps of them being waved from March 8 onwards — in demonstration against the dangerous games. She is also … Read More
A Valencian town has voted “no” to festivities featuring bulls at the first local referendum to be held on the subject since the regional and local elections of May shifted power to the political left. … Read More
A video captured by Humane Society International (HSI) shows the brutal killing of a bull in Spain at controversial festival, the Toro de la Vega fiesta. The group condemned Tuesday’s killing of the bull, named … Read More
Men on horseback have chased down a bull and speared it to death during the annual Toro de la Vega festival reviled by animal rights activists who turned out by the hundreds to protest the … Read More
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Facts about Spanish fiestas
Rapa das Bestas (The Capture of the Beasts) is the name of an operation that involves cutting the manes of the wild horses who live free at the mountains in a semi-feral state and that … Read More
The Donkey Sanctuary has been strongly campaigning to end the use of a donkey in the Peropalo festival in Villanueva de la Vera, Spain since 1986. This tradition centres around a donkey being taken through … Read More
The annual “Fiestas Mayores” in Tordesillas take place in the second week of September. The “fiestas” or “feast days” are in honour of the patron Saint of the town and surrounding area, Our Lady, the … Read More
The Valencian town of Dénia works itself up into a frenzy for the much-anticipated Toros/Bous a la Mar. This atavistic idiotcy is staged annually to commemorate the Day of the Sacred Blood of Our Lord … Read More
One of Spain’s worst “festivals” of animal cruelty takes place in the village of Coria. A bull is forced to run for hours through the streets while villagers taunt the animal and throw darts at … Read More
This particular savagery consists of putting balls of pitch on both the horns of multiple bulls and then setting fire to the balls. The bulls are then released on the streets. These balls burn for … Read More
Marcos held aloft the bloodsoaked bull’s ears and bowed deeply to the crowd. Moments earlier he’d sliced them off the young bull, which now lay on one side, blood pooling beneath him. But the poor … Read More
Each year, the second Tuesday of September, the town of Tordesillas (in Valladolid, Spain) is host to a horrific fiesta known as “El Toro de la Vega.” The festival begins with the release of a … Read More
The annual “Fiestas Mayores” in Tordesillas take place in the second week of September. The “fiestas” or “feast days” are in honour of the patron Saint of the town and surrounding area, Our Lady, the … Read More
The “Toro de la Vega” is a medieval bull festival celebrated in the town of Tordesillas (province of Valladolid, Spain). The tournament consists of – depending on the sources – the fight, hunt, or chase … Read More
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Articles and commentary about Spanish fiestas
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Resources in the struggle to end Spanish fiestas
Ending cruelty doesn’t necessarily mean giving up the tradition. Bull proxies on metal frames called “Toro de Fuego” appear to also be used for the festivities — so, why not celebrate the tradition in a way that isn’t torturous?
Sarah V. Schweig The Dogo: This Fiesta Is So Cruel It Doesn’t Even Seem RealLEGISLATIONSpain is divided into 17 autonomous communities, which in turn are divided into 50 provinces. There are also two autonomous cities: those of Ceuta and Melilla. Finally, each province comprises a number of municipalities. Each … Read More
Law 32/2007, of 7th November for the care of animals during their exploitation, transport, experimentation and sacrifice. The law is composed of a Preamble and is structured in three titles, and is completed by an … Read More
Bullfighting was banned in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia by a vote of the Catalan Parliament in July 2010. The ban came into effect on 1 January 2012. The last bullfight in the region … Read More
There is a well-structured system of laws for animal protection and welfare in Spain. On the one hand, the central government is responsible for the laws related to wildlife protection, sanctions for animal abuse at … Read More
On a national level, the Spanish Animal Welfare Act 32/2007 provides framework legislation concerning animal welfare and the offences and penalties for non-compliance. However, the scope of the act refers to animals kept for economic … Read More
VIDEO GALLERYBlood Fiestas Spain
Every year in Spain over 16,000 celebrations with animal abuse take place. Animal Equality has documented events such as the cruel becerradas and novilladas, revealing unseen images of violence and brutality. Animals are beaten, stoned, kicked and chased by vehicles until collapsing exhausted whilst small calves, less than two years old, suffer an agonizing and painful death. These are just some of the findings revealed during the investigation which uncover the enormous suffering that bullfights force upon animals.
Toro de la Vega
La verguenza nacional. October 2007. The annual “Fiestas Mayores” in Tordesillas take place in the second week of September. The “fiestas” or “feast days” are in honour of the patron Saint of the town and surrounding area, Our Lady, the Virgin of the Cliff. The bloodiest day is the Tuesday when the famous “El Toro de la Vega” run takes place.
Bous a la Mar / Bulls to the Sea
The Valencian town of Dénia works itself up into a frenzy for the much-anticipated Toros/Bous a la Mar. This atavistic idiocracy is staged annually to commemorate the Day of the Sacred Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (el Día de la Santísima a Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo). This outrage happens every year between July 3-11. It’s not the first time that bulls die either drowned or by other causes; they are also chased with sticks and kicked.
La verguenza del Toro de Coria 1de2
One of Spain’s worst “festivals” of animal cruelty takes place in the village of Coria. A bull is forced to run for hours through the streets while villagers taunt the animal and throw darts at him. When the bull is too tired and weak from loss of blood to keep going, the villagers shoot him and cut off his testicles while he is still alive. This horrific cruelty occurs every year between June 23-29.
Toro Jubilo 2011
This particular savagery consists of putting balls of pitch on both the horns of multiple bulls and then setting fire to the balls. The bulls are then released on the streets. These balls burn for hours causing terrible suffering. The bulls can do nothing but run around in pain, often smashing into walls in an futile attempt to douse the fires.
ORGANIZATIONSPerhaps surprisingly in the 21st Century, bullfights still exist in several countries of the world, much to our shame in what we commonly regard as an “enlightened” era. These are barbaric shows, and relics of … Read More
Some 20,000 people attended the call made by this movement on March 28, 2010, calculated on the surface of the route of the demonstration 6,000 square meters and a density of 3 people per square … Read More
