Alberta Woman to Pose as ‘Death Runner’ in Protest of Cruel Running of the Bulls in Pamplona
Bulls Violently Killed in Ring Following Running Spectacle Causes Outrage
For Immediate Release:
July 1, 2014
Contact:
Alexis Sadoti 202-483-7382
Wellness coach Ella Clarke, 34, will travel to Pamplona, Spain, later this week to protest the city’s cruel Running of the Bulls and the bullfights that follow by posing in the event’s famous white-and-red costumes but with her face painted white and her eyes painted black to look like the Grim Reaper. Clarke, who graduated from Leduc Composite High School in Leduc, is one of dozens of people who will take part in the demonstration, which will be held on Saturday, one day before the start of the Running of the Bulls. The protest is being organized by PETA U.K. and the Spanish group AnimaNaturalis.
“Tormenting and butchering animals can never be justified as entertainment,” Clarke says. “I’m happy to do whatever I can to expose the cruelty of the Running of the Bulls and bullfighting.”
Many people don’t realize that the bulls who are tortured in Pamplona’s bullring during the festival of San Fermín are the same ones who earlier in the day slipped and slid their way down the town’s narrow cobblestone streets. As shown in PETA’s videonarrated by Spanish music superstar Charo, each bull used in a fight is speared, stabbed, and weakened until, finally, a matador attempts to sever the exhausted animal’s spine with a dagger. Sometimes, the bull drowns in his own blood before the dagger comes into play. Other times, he’s still alive as his broken, bleeding body is dragged out of the arena and left to await slaughter.
Bullfighting has been on the decline for years, with attendance decreasing and bullrings closing across countries that permit bullfights. The industry survives only because of huge subsidies and tourists who unwittingly fuel the abusive events—an Ipsos MORI poll last year suggested that 76 percent of Spaniards oppose the use of public funds to support bullfighting.
Clarke is available for interviews. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
