The Running of the Bulls, a Spanish tradition dating back to the 13th century, will make its American debut on August 24th at the Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie.
The Running of the Bulls, a Spanish tradition dating back to the 13th century, will make its American debut on August 24th at the Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie. The company putting on the event, The Great Bull Run, hopes to “establish the tradition of the running of the bulls, without the violence and killing that ensues at the end of the event in Spain,” said Rob Dickens, Chief Operating officer for the Great Bull Run.
From the inaugural event in Dinwiddie, until the closing event in July 2014 in Chicago, the bulls will take a tour of the United States, covering ten cities throughout the year. The goal is to re-create the Spanish custom known as encierro, or Fiesta de San Fermin, which began on the cobblestone city streets of Pamplona, Spain. According to a report in the Encyclopedia Britannica, it is common for the event to last a total of nine days during July, including fireworks, celebrations, and the Bull Run.
The Great Bull Run will condense this celebration into one day for each city, which will include food, music, and mechanical bull riding as well as one quarter mile long Bull Run and three sessions of the Tomato Royale, a mock event based on the Spanish La Tomatina festival. Participants in the Tomato Royale pay a fee, like the Bull Runners do, to be a part of a massive food fight ending in fun, sloshy, tomato chaos. Those who do not wish to take part in either event may pay a spectator fee.
When it comes to the Great Bull Run, their slogan “grab life by the horns” may imply daring fun for the common adrenaline junkie, but what are the safety concerns involved? Since 1910, only 15 people have died in the Pamplona running of the bulls, but an outstanding 200-300 people are injured annually. With that being said, The Great Bull Run plans to take certain precautions such as a required insurance fee by all participants and a medical staff on scene in order to prepare and prevent major medical problems.
“There’s nothing we can do to prevent people getting run over by bulls, that’s what people signed up for. If we made it completely safe, then there would be no point in recreating the tradition. There are people that want to run with the bulls because it is dangerous, and that’s what makes it so thrilling,” said Dickens. One major difference between this event and the event in Spain is the type of bull used. In Spain, the bulls are often trained and abused to seek out humans, whereas the bulls chosen from a free-range ranch for The Great Bull Run are not hyper-aggressive fighting bulls, and will simply run the course, running over whatever may be in their way.
With around 5,000 participants expected, and only 24 bulls released in waves of eight, there is also concern for the safety of the bulls. Richmond Friends of Animals, a small local group dedicated to the compassionate treatment of all animals, created a petition in order to raise awareness of what they believe to be major safety concerns within the event. “We ask people to put themselves in the situation of the bulls; imagine you’re packed in a truck, put on the highway, and suddenly released in a strange place with thousands of people yelling and running around you,” said William Lowrey, Richmond Friends of Animals Volunteer. “It is not a natural environment for a bull, and the only reason all of this is being done if for the benefit and entertainment of the people.”
The Spanish tradition of the Bull Run includes a massive bull fight in which many bulls end up being killed, but this event is not carrying on that side of the tradition. “Its on us to educate people that this event is different that what goes on in Spain,” explained Dickens. The Great Bull Run will have a vet on site at all times to ensure that the bulls are treated properly at all times, as well as rules for the runners concerning the bulls. Will that be enough?
With those preventative actions by the Great Bull Run in mind, Lowrey responded, “If this were an event where the bulls were just being walked around a track, then there would probably not be the need for a vet. They have a vet because of the potential risk of injury to the bull, and there is a potential risk of injury to the bull because they are making a spectacle of them, and putting them in unsafe situations.”
Because of the lack of response to the petition and press release put out, Richmond Friends of Animals plans to protest on the day of the event. “We are not going to be there to cause a commotion, but we want to express our disapproval of the vent and maybe get participants to think differently and cast a different lens on how the bulls may be feeling and how their experience is affected,” Lowrey said.
“In our society it has always been socially acceptable to use animals for entertainment purposes, and despite the voiced concerns, there is no abuse going on here,” Dickens said. “We are excited that this event is coming to the United States and that we have thousands of people that are going to be running with the bulls in Virginia and nationwide.”
