Warning: Graphic Content

Kind people would never dream of taking a vacation during which animal suffering was on the agenda. Yet every year, drunken crowds of tourists gather for the Festival of St. Fermín in Pamplona, Spain, to watch the Running of the Bulls—seemingly oblivious to the fact that the animals who are forced to run through the streets will be tormented and killed in bullfights each evening.

Calling these bloody, violent events a “fight” is a cruel joke. A terrified bull doesn’t have much of a chance when pitted against men wielding daggers, lances, and swords—especially if he’s been deliberately weakened beforehand. It’s not uncommon for bulls’ horns to be shaved down before a bullfight or for people to drop sandbags onto their backs or rub petroleum jelly into their eyes.

Once each bewildered bull enters the arena, he will face prolonged and ritualized torment at the hands of what must seem to him a veritable army of men. First come the picadores on blindfolded horses. They twist lances into his back and neck, causing him excruciating pain and preventing him from being able to lift his head or even think properly.

Then, the banderilleros bearing brightly coloured sticks with harpoon points run the bull in circles, plunging the sharp points into his back until he’s so dizzy that he can’t run anymore.

Finally, the matador (Spanish for “killer”) goads the exhausted, terrified bull into a few final charges, trying to prolong the spectacle before finally ending it all by lunging at the animal with a sword.

Such stomach-churning violence often motivates many audience members to leave before the sickening end of the “fight”—but by that point, the damage is already done, and the cost of their tickets has helped the industry kill more bulls.

The good news is that bullfighting is in decline. The vast majority of Spaniards disapprove of this stain on their country’s reputation, and today, more than 100 Spanish municipalities prohibit bullfighting. Arenas are emptying out, and tourists are now coming together for anti-bullfighting demonstrations rather than attending the bullfights themselves. And with stricter regulations on bullfighting (like those introduced in Spain’s Balearic Islands after pressure from PETA U.K. supporters, which make it illegal to kill or wound bulls with weapons in an arena), industry supporters are often dissuaded from holding any bullfighting events at all.

PETA and other groups are keeping the pressure on officials to ban bullfights, encouraging travel companies to stop promoting them, and working to dry up the ticket sales that fund animals’ suffering.

Want to help us relegate bullfighting to the history books?

Here’s how to get started:

• If you’re visiting Spain, France, Portugal, or anywhere else that bullfighting still takes place, don’t attend, and urge friends and family to shun these hideous spectacles as well.
• Contact officials in cities where bullfighting is legal and tell them that you won’t visit as long as they support this cowardly and violent “sport.”
• Sign PETA’s action alert urging Pedro Sánchez—Spain’s prime minister—to ban bullfighting immediately.