Urge Spain's Prime Minister to End the Bloody Torture of Bulls

Pedro Sánchez has just been sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Spain, giving him the opportunity to make a massive difference for animals by banning cruel bullfights and bull runs.

© Jo-Anne McArthur | We Animals Media

Every year, thousands of bulls endure a bloody death in bullrings across Spain. These deaths are slow and painful: men on horseback and on foot drive lances and barbed sticks into bulls' backs before the tormented animals are stabbed with a sword or dagger.

At the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, terrified bulls are shocked with electric prods to force them out onto the streets, where they're harassed by screaming mobs. The panicked animals often slip and crash into walls, resulting in broken bones and other injuries. Later, these same bulls will be barbarically killed in the bullring – a fact many tourists are unaware of.

Compassionate people understand that this violence is needless and unjustifiable, and opposition to bullfighting is growing both within Spain and around the world. A poll released in 2016 revealed that an overwhelming 81 per cent of Spaniards do not support bullfighting, and that figure rises to 93 per cent among 16- to 24-year-olds.

Around 200,000 Australian tourists visit Spain every year, some, unaware of the ultimate fate of the bulls, to run at Pamplona. During the event in past years, Australians have been gored during the run.

It's time for the Spanish government to step up and protect animals. Please sign our petition to the Prime Minister calling for a national ban on bullfights and bull runs.

To His Excellency Pedro Sánchez,

Bullfights are immensely cruel events in which thousands of animals are slowly and painfully killed across Spain every year. Attackers on horseback and on foot drive lances and sharp sticks into bulls' necks and backs, and when the animals have become weakened by blood loss, a matador finally kills them with a sword.

Bulls also suffer in bull runs, in which they're forced to run through the streets while being harassed by a terrifying mob. The panicked animals often lose their footing and crash into walls, breaking bones and otherwise injuring themselves.

An overwhelming 81 per cent of Spaniards don't support bullfighting, according to an Ipsos MORI poll released in 2016. That figure is even higher among 16- to 24-year-olds, rising to a whopping 93 per cent.

Please listen to the voices of people in Spain and across the world and ban bullfighting and bull runs now.

Kind regards, 

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