Body Count Is in for the Running of the Bulls

At least 41 people suffered injuries during Pamplona’s San Fermin festival this year. One runner from Pamplona remains in the hospital after he was gored so deeply that his diaphragm ruptured. An Australian teenager fractured three vertebrae, and an Australian man was gored in the leg, piercing his femoral artery, after he taunted a bull.

While no people were killed in this year’s runs, the bulls didn’t fare as well. After being poked, prodded, and taunted by boozed-up revelers, the bulls ran panic-stricken through the streets to the bullring, where they were all killed in bullfights. Their flesh was later served up in Pamplona’s restaurants.

Activists line up before the PETA / AnimaNaturalis demonstration

Instead of tormenting and killing bulls, we far prefer the idea cooked up by roller derby groups, in which roller girls wearing horned hats chase participants through the streets with Nerf weaponry. Thrill-seekers can experience a festive, exhilarating chase that doesn’t end at the hospital or the bullring.