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Date Published: 03/05/2023

VIDEO: Cruel bull event in Spain ends with poor animal breaking its legs after jumping off 50-foot bridge

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The incident has reopened a debate into banning bullfighting and the running of the bulls in Spain

VIDEO: Cruel bull event in Spain ends with poor animal breaking its legs after jumping off 50-foot bridge

The inexplicable cruelty and bloody-mindedness of the Spanish fiestas which still use the torture and ritual slaughter of animals such as bulls for entertainment continues, despite a drop in support for these events among Spaniards.

This Saturday, April 29, a bull that was running in the traditional Bou de les penyes in Ontinyent (Valencia) had to be sacrificed after it jumped from a bridge into a 50-foot-high ravine and broke its legs.

In a horrendous and heart-wrenching video that captured the whole incident, the bull, named ‘Vicioso’ or ‘Vicious’ in Spanish, can be seen hurtling down a slope with people baiting it on all sides, and straight towards a low wall separating the Camí Dels Carros road from a sheer drop.

This is absolutely devastating 💔

Vicioso, disorientated, fell 50 FEET suffering fatal injuries during Bou de les Penyes festival.

This is NOT entertainment, it’s animal ABUSE 😡pic.twitter.com/5ZqaQKEtr1
— PETA UK (@PETAUK) May 2, 2023

The animal leaps over the wall of the Pont Vell bridge and drops into the void, provoking screams of horror from those watching.

The poor bull ended up lying on the river bank with broken legs. As a result, he had to be moved and finally euthanised.

Initially, there were going to be bullfights on that day too – two in the morning and three in the afternoon – but this incident forced the bullfighting events planned for the afternoon in Ontinyent to be cancelled.

This incident has reopened a debate about the wisdom and morality of the ‘bous al carrer’ bull running fiestas that take place in towns all over the Valencian Community every summer, and which causes injury and death not only to the animals but also to human spectators.

The Federación de Peñas de Bous al Carrer, which promotes and helps organise events of this type, has threatened legal action against anyone who might try to “restrict the rights of the fans” and has called on politicians to defend their traditions.

“Those who promote such initiatives should know that they will have to face the Valencian fans of the Bous al Carrer. Firstly, because the right of access to culture, and bullfighting is undoubtedly one of them, is enshrined in our Constitution and, therefore, Law 18/2013, regulating bullfighting as Cultural Heritage of the Spanish, imposes on the Administrations and public authorities the defence, promotion and conservation of bullfighting in its various forms, including the Bous al Carrer,” said the federation.

Animal charity PETA said, “This is NOT entertainment, it’s animal ABUSE.”

Just recently, Spain banned its ‘offensive’ dwarf bullfighting events in Madrid – but more because they were deemed insensitive to those bullfighters rather than the fact that it was cruel to the bulls.

The country has also recently passed a law on the protection of animal rights, but nowhere does it mention the horrendous cruelty for which the country is famed – its ritual slaughter of thousands of bulls every year, which only remains due to government subsidies.

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