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Jul 5, 2019-2019

Spain

San Fermin and the Fight for Bulls

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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP

Animanaturalis, Peta

TARGET

Bullfighting Sport

WIDELY HELD BELIEF

Animals should not be used to fight for human entertainment.

CASE NARRATIVE

Issue/Opponent: Each year thousands of bulls are slaughtered in bullrings around the world. Bulls have been weakened with drugs or by having sandbags dropped on their backs. Each year the celebration of culture and religion brings tourists to the city of Pamplona, Spain for the San Fermin festival. Throughout generations bullfighting has been a part of the culture and the sport has brought money to the community. During the week-long festival bulls are forced to run along the streets to the bull ring. Once they have arrived at the bullring they are men who stab the bulls until they become weak due to blood loss. Dilemma Action: On July 5th, 2019 before the San Fermin festival in Spain 54 protestors from AnimaNaturalis and PETA held a demonstration that was against the sport of bullfighting. The protestors gathered in the street holding signs that said “No more bullfights.” When they were all gathered they had bull horns and fake spears that were jutting from their backs to represent how banderilleros would kill the bull. They stood in unison within the white lines chanting the slogans on their banners. Then the 54 protesters lay in their respective places. These 54 people represented the approximate amount of bulls that are killed yearly at the festival. The goal of this demonstration was to protest the inhumane killings of bulls and prevent the tradition of sport to continue. Outcome: Each year the attendance in Spanish arenas has decreased and many Spanish towns are highly against bullfighting,

PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL

Environment

DA TACTICS USED

Sitdown

Wearing of symbols

CASE NARRATIVE WRITER

SUCCESS METRICS

9 / 12

(EREP) Dilemma action got replicated by other movements

(MC) Media Coverage

(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists

(OR) Opponent response

(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public

(PUN) Punishment favored the activists

(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent

(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists

(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public

PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN

1 / 3

Activist group continued working together after the action

RESOURCES

Project documentation

Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook

Case study documentation

Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset

CC BY 4.0 Deed, Attribution 4.0 International

SOURCES

Actipedia. 2021. “San Fermin and the Fight for Bulls,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://actipedia.org/project/san-fermin-and-fight-bulls).


PETA. 2021. “PETA U.K. Offers Mayor of Pamplona €250,000+ to Cancel Running of the Bulls Permanently,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/peta-u-k-offers-mayor-of-pamplona-e250000-to-cancel-running-of-the-bulls-permanently/).


PETA. 2021. “Bullfighting,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/cruel-sports/bullfighting/).


PETA UK. “What Happens During the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona
,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.peta.org.uk/living/what-happens-during-the-running-of-the-bulls-in-pamplona/).

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