ROCHESTER COUPLE JOINS ‘RUNNING OF THE NUDES’ IN PAMPLONA
PETA Hopes ‘Human Race’ Will Expose and End Cruelty Behind Bull Run
For Immediate Release:
June 8, 2005
Contact:
Arzinda Jalil 757-622-7382
Rochester, N.Y. — Rochester natives Megan Hartman and Charles Maguire are off to Spain to join an estimated 600 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) supporters from around the world who will run through the streets of Pamplona—most of them wearing nothing more than red scarves and plastic horns—two days before the city’s annual "Running of the Bulls," as part of PETA’s fourth annual "Human Race" on July 5. The runners’ goal is to let tourists know that there is a win-win alternative to inciting a stampede among panicked animals who end up being tormented and slaughtered in the bullring later in the day.
Would you consider a profile on Megan and Charles and their work in behalf of bulls? I’d be happy to arrange an interview before they leave for Spain.
PETA supporters worldwide have written to the mayor of Pamplona, asking her to embrace a new tradition—the festive, naked "Human Race"—and to stop abusing bulls, who are terrified by the ordeal and who often suffer serious injuries as they slip and fall when forced to charge down cobbled streets. Spanish opposition to bullfighting is mounting. After the Barcelona City Council declared Barcelona an anti-bullfighting city in April 2004 in an effort to eventually ban this primitive blood sport—seen by many as a shameful part of Spain’s past and not reflective of a progressive European country—other Spanish towns, including Torello, Calldetenes, and Olot—which has the second-oldest bullring in Spain—followed suit.
The Running of the Bulls is tourist-driven, but most visitors don’t have a clue about the cruelty that bulls are subjected to before, during, and after the run. Electric-shock prods and sharp sticks are typically used to torment and frighten the bulls into a stampede. As the animals flee, they sustain bruises, cuts, and broken bones. In the bullfights following the run, bulls are often intentionally debilitated with tranquilizers and beatings and blinded with petroleum jelly rubbed in their eyes so that they are less able to resist their tormentors’ attacks. According to The New York Times, as many as 90 percent of tourists who attend bullfights never return after witnessing the animals’ suffering.
"Tormenting and butchering animals for entertainment is something straight out of the Dark Ages," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "Tourists flocking to Pamplona are looking for a thrill, and our Running of the Nudes aims to give them just that—without harming a hair on a bull’s back."
This year’s Running of the Nudes boasts twice as many participants as last year’s race, which garnered international media attention and included runners from the United States, Canada, and Europe. To view footage of last year’s "Human Race," please visit RunningOfTheNudes.com.
