The famous Spanish bull-running festival, Encierros, has claimed yet another life—the first ever since the tradition was resumed after COVID restrictions were lifted in the country. A 55-year-old man was impaled in the upper left thigh and rushed to the hospital, but he unfortunately did not make it out alive.
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Encierros
A gut-wrenching video of the incident has been circulating on social media, in which the bull is seen racing in the streets of Onda, a Spanish town near Valencia. The man, who was wearing red, was running for his life when the angered bull caught up to him and proceeded to repeatedly jab him with his horns. Another reveller, who was witnessing the attack, distracted the beast and got him to continue on the designated bull-running path.
According to Metro.co.uk, an onsite surgeon fled to his rescue and found that the man’s heart had stopped after the brutal attack. He managed to revive him and send him to the hospital, but the man died as he lost too much blood.
The death forced officials to suspend all other events that were expected to take place. Onda Town Hall said in a statement:
Due to the death of a man on Saturday afternoon and as a sign of respect and show of condolence, the rest of the programmed night-time events have been suspended.
A dangerous tradition
While this is the first reported death in the bull-running events of Spain, there have been other incidents in neighbouring cities. A 25-year-old from Ecuador was also injured during an event that was held over the weekend in Pobla de Farnals.
The exact number of how many people have died during bull-running events in Spain is still a mystery, but every year a handful of people are either severely injured or killed. Additionally, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has reported that 40,000 bulls are killed every year because of bullfighting events in Spain. They’re calling for the Spanish government to put an end to all these activities for the safety of the animals and the people. They wrote:
Onda council has cancelled all further bull running planned for the festival, but Spain needs to take action and shut the industry down permanently.
