Every July, in Pamplona, Spain, terrified bulls are chased through the streets during the Festival of San Fermín. Each morning of the 8-day spectacle, six bulls are released into raucous, clamoring crowds. As the terrified animals try to flee, they often collide with each other, crash into walls and barriers, and even fall and break bones. When the run is over, the suffering has just begun. The Running of the Bulls ends when the animals have been chased into the Plaza de Toros bullfighting ring to be tortured and killed.
Here’s what the Saint Fermín Festival gets wrong about the Christian martyr—and how bullfights make a mockery of Christ’s teachings of mercy, humility, and a willingness to protect those who can’t protect themselves
Saint Fermín: Who He Was and What the Festival Gets Wrong
Saint Fermín of Amiens is believed to have been born to a Roman father in Pamplona in the 3rd century and was converted to Christianity by disciples of Saint Saturninus. He became Pamplona’s first bishop and a dedicated missionary, establishing and leading Christian communities despite constant persecution. While preaching in Amiens, France, in September of 303, Saint Fermín was sentenced to death for his faith, tortured, and beheaded.
Spanish legends surrounding the saint correctly establish that he was martyred, but Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls and the ensuing bullfights that purportedly honor him are based on a false narrative: an often-repeated but historically inaccurate claim that Saint Fermín was tied to bulls and dragged to death. That cruel death was the fate of Saint Saturninus (also known as Sernin), not Saint Fermín. Saint Fermín is also traditionally venerated on September 25—not in July. Pamplona moved their event at the end of the 16th century for better weather and to coincide with the time when animals were typically sold.
What Happens to the Bulls
During the “encierro,” a rocket is launched to startle the bulls into darting into narrow streets, where they are driven forward by shouting crowds, pressure, and fear. They run because they are trying to escape—searching for an exit, doing what frightened animals do when there is no safe place to turn. In the crush of bodies and barriers, bulls slip on cobblestones, slam into walls, fall, and become injured. This is cruelty manufactured for human entertainment. The violent atmosphere often spirals into violence against women as well. There are typically numerous reports of sexual assaults during the “festivities.”
For the bulls released in the morning, it will be the last day of their lives. Even before they’re forced into the ring in the evening, each one endures unimaginable torment. They are deprived of food and water to weaken them, and substances like petroleum jelly are smeared into their eyes to impair their vision. Participants often mutilate the animals’ horns, a painful procedure that hinders their ability to measure distances or defend themselves.
In the ring, picadors surround the animal and twist and gouge lances into his back and neck muscles, taking away his ability to lift his head and defend himself. Banderilleros stab him with banderillas—sharp, brightly colored sticks—causing significant blood loss. They force him to run in circles until he is dizzy, exhausted, and sick. Then the matador tries to provoke a few charges from the dying bull before attempting to sever his aorta. Matadors aren’t doctors, and they often succeed only in further mutilating the suffering bull. The matador then tries to cut the animal’s spinal cord, often leaving him paralyzed but fully conscious. The animal’s ears and tail are often chopped off for trophies.
If the same thing were done to dogs, no one would support this egregious display of cruelty. And bulls have the same capacity for terror and pain. The Running of the Bulls is a pipeline of suffering—fear in the streets, then violence in the ring.
Why Christians Should Reject Bull Runs and Bullfights
Bullfights are commonly held “in honor” of Catholic saints and blessed by priests. But the Catholic Church’s ties to this ritualized execution make a mockery of Christ’s teachings of kindness and mercy. Scripture repeatedly ties righteousness to how we treat the vulnerable, and it warns against hardening our hearts. Animals are among the most vulnerable beings under human power: They cannot consent and cannot escape. Jesus’ ministry continually pulled people back to the spirit of God’s law—compassion over ritual, mercy over spectacle.
Many harmful customs have changed because people of conscience refused to participate, and as the hands and feet of Jesus, Christians must lead the way. Bullfighting has already been banned in Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Italy, the U.K.; the Mexican states of Quintana Roo, Sonora, Guerrero, and Coahuila, and Mexico City; and more than 125 Spanish towns and cities have declared themselves against it. Opinion polls in all countries that allow bullfighting show that a majority of the public opposes it. Tourists are keeping bullfighting and the Running of the Bulls profitable.
A Better Witness: Choose Compassion
People who enjoy traveling, attending festivals, and connecting with different cultures have countless humane options. Spending our time and money on kind entertainment is the Christlike choice.
