Spain’s famous and controversial bull-running festival has claimed 10 lives, leading to a debate against and in favour of the traditional event.
Seven people died in the eastern Valencia region where the practice of releasing bulls into the streets for entertainment has sparked debate, while other fatalities were reported in the regions of Madrid, Castilla Leon and Navarra in the north.
This year’s toll raises to more than 30 the total number of people who have been killed in Valencia’s bull-running events since 2015.
This summer’s victims were between the ages of 18 and 73 _ six of them were men and one was a woman – a French woman who was the oldest victim.
They died after being gored or trampled by the bulls. Countless other people were injured, among them minors.
Bull-running events are a highlight of summer festivities across Spain, with the best known being the San Fermin festival in the northern city of Pamplona.
The idea is that a small group of bulls are let loose into a fenced-off area of the streets and hundreds of foolhardy thrill-seekers run alongside them for a few adrenaline-fuelled minutes, in a spectacle that draws thousands of spectators.
In Valencia and in southern parts of neighbouring Catalonia, such events are hugely popular and few are the villages that don’t put on some sort of entertainment involving bulls barrelling through the streets.
