Video: 45,000 Activists Flood Streets of Madrid to Protest Ritual Killing

On September 13th, approximately 45,000 activists marched through the streets of Madrid and broke makeshift spears in half in a ceremony called “Rompe Una Lanza” (translated: break a sword). The activists were protesting an annual ritual called “Toro de la Vega” in which over 100 men chase down a bull and slowly spear him to death. The ritual takes place on Tuesday (9/16) in Tordesillas, a town 118 miles northwest of Madrid.

THE PROTEST

THE RITUAL

The Spanish activist group PACMA (Political Party against Mistreatment of Animals in Spain) says that, during the Toro de la Vega, “one hundred or more men harass the bull with their thrusting lances until the poor animal, who is bleeding profusely and riddled with holes, can go no further. As he collapses, someone cuts off his testicles. It is a slow form of torture, watched by a rowdy spectators, including parents who take their children.”

To learn more about “Toro de la Vega,” please visit SHARK, which translated the PACMA’s description of the barbaric ritual into English. And sign the petition.