On what would have been the first day of the Fêtes de Bayonne—a festival in the South of France during which many bullfights take place, canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic—ultra-endurance runner and PETA activist Régis Dinand-Mangeot completed a 48-kilometer (or 30-mile) course for the 48 bulls who would have been killed during bullfights in Bayonne this year. The route—which started and ended in front of the city’s bullring—traced the shape of a bull’s head, in tribute to the victims of bullfighting.
This isn’t the athlete’s first feat of ultra-endurance undertaken to promote animal rights: In 2017, he ran a 24-hour race to promote vegan living and show his support for PETA’s vital work. He has also run the 750 kilometers (466 miles) between Paris and Toulouse for animal rights. Real athletes work hard to try to push their physical limits and improve themselves—they don’t torture vulnerable animals.
Bullfighting isn’t an art or a sport—it’s animal abuse. Bulls are sentient, intelligent animals who feel fear and pain and hold their lives dear, as we do ours. Nonetheless, they are tortured and violently killed to entertain a dwindling number of spectators. During a bullfight, several terrified bulls are tortured one after the other. They are tormented and pursued on horseback, and spears and banderillas are driven into their backs and necks.
When they grow weak from blood loss, the matador attempts to finish them off. However, it’s not uncommon for bulls to die from drowning in their own blood if the matador misses the mark and the sword pierces the lungs instead of the heart. Often, when the spinal cord is hit, animals dragged by chains out of the bullring are paralyzed but still conscious.
“Time is running out for the bullfighting industry,” says Dinand-Mangeot. “Through my race I aim to raise awareness of the plight of these animals, and to call for the cancellation of this year’s bullfights to become permanent, as there is nothing sporting nor entertaining about torturing animals to death.”
Bullfighting has no place in a modern society. It should be relegated to the history books, which is why PETA France is urging mayors of bullfighting towns to ban this cruel activity. In France, 75% of the population favors banning bullfights. These spectacles are also losing sponsors, and earlier this year, spirits giant Pernod Ricard ended its financial support of the Paul Ricard Union of Bullfighting Clubs, the largest bullfighting organization in Europe.
