Bull with flaming horns tramples man to death at Spanish festival

By
Lee Cain

Last updated at 11:53 PM on 23rd January 2012

A reveller was gored to death by a flaming-horned bull at a Spanish fiesta, it emerged today.

The half-ton beast charged the unnamed 45-year-old, trampling on his head and goring his body on late on Saturday.

Large balls of flaming wax had been affixed to the bulls’ head before it was let loose to rampage through the town of Navajas for a festival.

A reveler releases a bull with flaming horns during a festival in Spain

A reveler releases a bull with flaming horns during a festival in Spain

The mayor of Navajas
said emergency services in his town were unable to save the life of the
45-year-old man whose name was withheld.

Jose Vicente Torres said the accident happened when the man, who had traveled from Alboraia, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) to the south, tripped just as the bull was released.

Torres said the bull charged and trampled the man, causing him ‘irreversible injuries.’ He said he had offered his condolences to the man’s family, but would not cancel similar events scheduled for Sunday.

‘Although ours is a small town, many people from outside come to visit our feast dedicated to Saint Anton,’ Torres said, adding that black bows had been tied to town hall flags as a mark of respect and mourning.

Many towns in east and north-eastern Spain celebrate feasts with ‘toros embolados’, or ‘flaming bulls’, which feature the animals racing around and shaking their heads as a reaction to flames or fireworks attached to or close to their horns.

At these regional festivals, flaming-horned bulls are taunted and teased by rowdy crowds in bullrings, town squares or down streets. Unlike with most other events involving bulls, the animals aren’t killed in the end.

The Spanish town of Navajas were a man was killed by a bull during a festival

The Spanish town of Navajas were a man was killed by a bull during a festival

The regional parliament of northeastern Catalonia banned bullfighting in July 2010 following a signature-collection campaign by animal rights activists. The ban took effect on January 1.

But the region then passed other legislation protecting flaming bulls, called “correbous” in the Catalan language.

Many critics said banning one act while enshrining the other in law was hypocrisy.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes