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Welcome to australian fauna.com
A 100% free information site.
No rubbish, just fair dinkum Aussie animal info. |
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"A magnificent site loaded with free information, a true asset to the Internet in Australia, and researchers Worldwide." --- Best of the Web, Australia. 2004. |
| Animals in the news
Three hurt in bull
running THOUSANDS joined
the first
day of
the running of the bulls in Spain today, kicking off nine days of
bullfighting,
concerts and round-the-clock drinking known as the San Fermin
festival. People risk being trampled and gored by the massive beasts on the stampede to the bullfighting arena - where the bulls are killed, much to the anger of animal welfare groups - and at least 14 deaths have been recorded since 1911. A number of daredevils joining today's run fell to the ground but most managed to avoid injury as the animals thundered over their bodies. But three men who suffered head, back and leg injuries were taken to the hospital. The running of the bulls is the most famous feature of the nine-day festival, which this year is expected to attract up to 1.5 million visitors, about half of them foreigners, including basketball star Dennis Rodman. The fiesta was expected to generate 45 million euro ($77.7 million) in income for the northern Spanish city. The traditional running of the bulls - made famous by Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises - was challenged this year by hundreds of animal rights activitists, who ran through the streets on Monday in their underwear after the municipality barred them from demonstrating completely in the buff. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the bull running was a cruel sport. "Before being let loose in the streets of Pamplona the bulls are drugged and submitted to various acts of torture to frighten them," it said in a statement. Spanish authorities say the festival is no more cruel than dozens of other bullfight fiestas all over the country, but it is certainly the best known, with visitors from scores of countries. For serious bullfight fans, the festival includes "corridas" featuring some of the toughest fighting animals in the country from specialised ranches like Torrestrella, Cabada Gago, Nunez del Cubillo, Dolores Aguirre, Miura, Jandilla and Marques de Domecq. For many residents, the San Fermin has become more of a nightmare than a fiesta because of the heavy drinking, and they flee to quieter spots. The town hall has mobilised 1500 people and is spending 2.7 million euro ($4.7 million) to provide security and clean up the bottles and trash that pile up in the streets every day. It has also run a series of advertisements
warning
novices that running with the bulls can be dangerous to life and limb.
Source: Newspaper. The Australian, July 08, 2004. |
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