NAKED ACTIVISTS CONVERGE ON SPANISH EMBASSY TO PROTEST ‘RUNNING OF THE BULLS’

For Immediate Release:
7 June 2006

Contact:
Lauren Bowey 020 7357 9229, ext 230; [email protected]
Karen Chisholm 020 7357 9229, ext 229; [email protected]

London – Wearing plastic bullhorns, red scarves and little else and holding signs reading, “Out With the Old, In With the Nude! Stop Bullfighting”, members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will protest against the cruel “Running of the Bulls” and the deadly bullfights which ensue in Pamplona, Spain, outside the Spanish embassy in London on Thursday. The event is one of 14 demonstrations which will take place in London, UK; Berlin, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium; The Hague, Holland; Zagreb, Croatia; Stockholm, Sweden; Rome, Italy; Vienna, Austria; and Helsinki, Finland as well as in Washington, DC, USA; Santiago, Chile; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s all part of an “International Week of Action” to encourage people to forego bullfights and instead join PETA’s fifth annual “Running of the Nudes”, a sexy, fun and humane alternative which takes place on 5 July, just two days before the bull run along the same course:

Date: 8 June 2006
Time: 12 noon
Place: Spanish Embassy, 39 Chesham Place, Belgravia Square

PETA’s Running of the Nudes has nearly doubled in size each year since its inception – more than 600 people representing 30 countries took part last year, and more than 1,000 are expected this year. The event has garnered international media attention each year it’s been held.

Before the bulls run through the streets, electric prods and sharp sticks are typically used to torment the animals into a stampede. In bullfights, bulls are often debilitated with tranquillisers or beatings and are blinded by having petroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes. Spanish opposition to bullfighting is mounting. After the Barcelona City Council voted in April 2004 to ban this primitive blood sport, other towns, including Torello, Calldetenes and Olot, followed suit.

“Tormenting and butchering animals for entertainment is something straight out of the Dark Ages”, says PETA’s Lauren Bowey. “We’re calling on the Spanish government to realise that this is the 21st century and that mutilating animals is no longer acceptable entertainment.”

For more information and to view footage of past events, please visit RunningOfTheNudes.com. Broadcast-quality video footage will be available on site.