Eighty British Streakers Descend On Pamplona For ‘Running Of The Nudes’

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

For Immediate Release:
1 July 2004

Contact:
Sean Gifford 020 7357 9229, ext 226
Dawn Carr 020 7357 9229, ext 224

Pamplona, Spain – Eighty Britons are off to Spain to join an estimated 300 PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) 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 on their heads – two days before the city’s annual “Running of the Bulls” as part of PETA’s third annual “Human Race” on 5 July. The streakers’ 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.

PETA supporters 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 often suffer serious injuries as they slip and fall when forced to charge down cobbled streets. Despite the growing Spanish disdain for bullfighting – reflected by the Barcelona City Council’s recent vote to ban this primitive bloodsport – and the thousands of complaints from all over the world that have been flooding her office, the mayor of Pamplona has not responded to PETA’s request.

The Running of the Bulls is tourist-driven, yet 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 tranquilisers and beatings and have 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 per cent of tourists who attend bullfights never return after witnessing the animals’ suffering.

“We hope that PETA’s idea for a Human Race will eventually end the hideously cruel bull run”, says PETA Director Dawn Carr. “If tourists knew how much these animals suffer for this bloody spectacle, they’d pack their bags and leave.”

This year’s “Running of the Nudes” boasts twice as many participants as last year’s race, which garnered international media attention, and will feature runners from the US and almost every European country, including Ukraine, Germany, Austria, the UK, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary, France and Spain. To view footage of last year’s Human Race, please visit RunningOfTheNudes.com.

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