MADRID – A 55-year-old Spaniard has died of blood after being gored in the leg by a bull during a festival in which animals are released into the streets, local authorities said on Sunday.
The town hall of Onda, in the province of Castellon, in eastern Spain, said in a statement that it would suspend the last day of Sunday’s bull races after the slaughter on Saturday afternoon during the annual festival.
The local Levante news site said the man was taken to a nearby hospital, but medics were unable to save him.
It is the first known death from a bull run since festivals returned to many cities in Spain after a hiatus imposed by the pandemic. Despite the occasional casualties and growing opposition from animal rights groups, bull or cow racing remains a popular tradition. Two other people were injured in a similar bull run in another city, Levante reported.
The best-known event internationally is the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, which took place every year before the pandemic and held eight races on consecutive days through the narrow, cobbled streets of the northern city. Its next edition is expected in July 2022, after a two-year hiatus.