Four people have been injured during the annual bull run in Pamplona, Spain.
According to emergency services, three people were trampled, and one suffered an injury caused by one of the bull’s horns.
Participants run ahead of bulls during the “encierro” (bull-run) of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain on July 13, 2022. – On each day of the festival six bulls are released at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) to run from their corral through the narrow, cobbled streets of the old town over an 850-meter (yard) course. Ahead of them are the runners, who try to stay close to the bulls without falling over or being gored. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images)
A running of the bulls is an event in which, every morning, people run on a short course of narrow streets in a town in front of fighting bulls, usually six, sometimes as many as 10, usually as part of a summertime festival. It takes place from 6 until 14 July and comprises eight runs at 8 am each morning.
It is believed to have started when butchers would help bull minders bring the animals from ranches into the city. The men would run in front of the animals to persuade them to move forward. Soon, members of the public got involved.
The encierro, held on 875m through four streets of the old part of Pamplona (Santo Domingo, Ayuntamiento, Mercaderes and Estafeta) during the nine-day festival of Sanfermines in honour of Saint Fermin, is the most famous bull run and a global tourist attraction.
But it is controversial. Every year, between 50 and 100 people suffer injuries during the run – not all of whom need to go to the hospital. And since 1910, 15 people have been killed at the bull running of Pampalona. Today, a staff of 200 provide medical attention at the event.
Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals charity) and Spanish animal rights group, AnimalNaturalis, say the event is cruel to the animals taking part and that spectators often don’t realise the bulls used in the runs end up being killed in bullfights afterwards.
Watch as hundreds of bulls run from Pamlona in the street:
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