JACKSONVILLE WOMAN—AND FAMILY—JOIN ‘RUNNING OF THE NUDES’ IN PAMPLONA

PETA Hopes ‘Human Race’ Will Expose and End Cruelty Behind Bull Run

For Immediate Release:
June 30, 2005

Contact:
Arzinda Jalil 757-622-7382

Jacksonville, Fla. — Jacksonville resident Alisa Cantu is off to Spain to join an estimated 600 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. The event will take place two days before the city’s annual "Running of the Bulls," as part of PETA’s fourth annual "Human Race" on July 5. Joining Cantu will be her 4-year-old daughter, Annastasia; her 1-year-old son, Angelo; her mother, Teresa Perez; and her brother, Alejandro Perez. The runners’ goal is to let tourists know that there is a win-win alternative to the bull run, in which panicked animals are incited to stampede and end up being tormented and slaughtered in the bullring later in the day.

The Running of the Bulls is tourist-driven, but most visitors haven’t 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 into 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.

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.

"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 grabbed headlines around the world. To view footage of last year’s "Human Race," please visit RunningOfTheNudes.com.