BULL LOVERS CONVERGE ON PAMPLONA FOR ‘RUNNING OF THE NUDES’
PETA Hopes ‘Human Race’ Will Eclipse and Ultimately Replace Cruel Bull RunFor Immediate Release:
May 2, 2006
Contact:
Brandi Valladolid 757-622-7382
Pamplona, Spain
— Wearing nothing but plastic bullhorns and red scarves, more than 1,000 people from around the world will join PETA’s fifth annual "Running of the Nudes" in Pamplona, Spain, on July 5 as a fun, sexy, and humane alternative to the cruel "Running of the Bulls" and the slaughter of the animals in the bullfights that ensue. With opposition to the Running of the Bulls and bullfights mounting, PETA is gearing up for its biggest-ever naked run, which has doubled in size every year since its inception. The Running of the Nudes takes place two days before the Running of the Bulls and follows the identical course.PETA wants Pamplona to embrace a new tradition
—the festive, naked "Human Race"—and to stop abusing bulls, who are terrified by the ordeal and often suffer serious injuries as they slip and fall in their flight down cobbled streets. 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 relic from Spain’s past and not reflective of a progressive European country—other Spanish towns, including Torello, Calldetenes, and Olot, followed suit.During the Running of the Bulls, bulls are terrorized with electric prods and sharp sticks prior to the run and are tortured and slaughtered in the bullring afterward
—every single day during the weeklong festival. In bullfights, bulls are often debilitated with tranquilizers or beatings and are blinded with petroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes. According to The New York Times, as many as 90 percent of tourists who attend bullfights never return after witnessing the animals’ suffering."If people are traveling to Pamplona seeking thrills, what could be more exciting than throwing off your clothes and running through the streets with 1,000 other compassionate people?" says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "The Running of the Nudes is a win-win-win situation
—people have fun, Pamplona gets tourists, and bulls live to see another Spanish sunrise."For more information and to view video footage of last year’s Running of the Nudes, please visit RunningOfTheNudes.com.
