California City Bars Cruel Bull Run

Concerned about the
safety of both human and animal participants, Lake Elsinore, California, City
Manager Grant Yates has denied a permit to the organizers of the cruel and
dangerous Great Bull Run that had been scheduled to take place at Lake Elsinore
Motorsports Park in March. PETA is sending a thank-you letter, along with
flowers and vegan chocolates, to the city, which also provided PETA with valuable
assistance during our groundbreaking Global Captive Breeders investigation last year.

Intended to imitate
the cruel Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, the event involves
loading bulls onto trucks, potentially driving them hundreds of miles, and herding
them into a pen, after which they are chased by riders on horseback, forcing
them to bolt in panic through a chute into an arena filled with hundreds of screaming
people. Along the way, they would potentially have crashed into barriers,
collided with and injured one another, or fallen and broken their legs or other
bones.

Bulls used in such
events can also seriously injure runners and bystanders. Two people were
hospitalized, including a man who was trampled by a bull, following The Great Bull
Run at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Virginia, in August. A venue in
Minnesota has already canceled plans to host a bull
run, citing safety concerns.

“We are the
action sports capital of the world,” said Yates in a news release
announcing the decision to bar the event. “However, unlike most of the
action sports and events in our community, this event invited inexperienced,
untrained and unprotected participants to take part in what could be a
dangerous and unpredictable activity.”

What You Can Do

Despite receiving
information from PETA and other concerned citizens about its inherent cruelty, organizers
are still planning to hold The Great Bull Run at Royal Purple Raceway outside
Houston in December. Please urge them to ensure the safety of people and
animals by canceling this foolhardy event.