Animal rights activists march in Pamplona to protest bullfighting festival

July 5, 2005

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Canadian Press

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

MADRID, Spain (AP) - Several hundred animal rights activists - some in their

underwear - marched through the streets of Pamplona on Tuesday to protest

bullfighting on the eve of the Spanish city's wildly popular running of the

bulls.

Behind a banner that read No to Bullfighting, some 700 supporters of People

for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, marched along the same

cobblestone route that bulls and daredevil humans cover every July in a

series of mad dashes from a holding pen to the bullring.

Protesters also shouted slogans like " Cruel with bulls, cruel with

everyone, " " Bulls yes, bullfighters no, " and " Torture is neither art nor

culture " in a festive march that gathered people from different countries.

The protest ended with PETA demanding a San Fermin festival without animals,

" in line with the times were live in, " the state-run Efe news agency

reported.

The protesters had planned to run totally nude but could not because they

did not get the necessary town hall permit, Efe said.

This year's festival begins Wednesday with a ceremony called the chupinazo,

in which a small rocket is fired from a balcony overlooking the main square

to signal the start of nine days of street parties in honour of the city's

patron saint, San Fermin.

The first of eight bull runs is scheduled for Thursday.

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