More than two thousand people witnessed last night in the Soria town of Medinaceli, in the Jalón corridor, the millenary and protested celebration of the Jubilo Bull, with police controls at the entrances to the Plaza Mayor to avoid any intervention by animal groups to boycott it.
The animal has been dragged to the square roped with two ropes tied to its antlers to the Plaza Mayor of Medinaceli, at half past eleven at night by the hand of about thirty young men who have been in charge of tying it to a man for another year. wooden pole to the bull, weighing more than four hundred kilograms.
The celebration has been protested by animal rights organizations, who demonstrated in the afternoon at the doors of the Medinaceli City Hall to ask for the abolition of this celebration.
The criticism from animal rights groups, led by PACMA, which gathered hours before in the Plaza Mayor of Medinense to demand the end of this bullfighting celebration.
Furthermore, AnimaNaturalis and CAS International, which have documented the event, assure that the animal's suffering has been undeniable.
This time, we could see how the bull was already struggling to leave the corral, with its head twisted, probably due to the weight of the wooden structure on its horns.
The moment of the bolada has been long and distressing for the bull, even more than usual, since it has remained immobilized against the pylon for more than eleven minutes until the participants have managed to catch its antlers.
The entities consider that the bull used last night in Medinaceli was not in a condition to participate in the celebration and that its obvious discomfort has been ignored, since it was unable to support the weight on its head and "was walking stumbling , in fact it has staggered several times until it fell," says Aïda Gascón, director of AnimaNaturalis in Spain.
In addition to the stress and exhaustion that can be seen in its gestures, the bull has had to endure pulling on its tail and constant blows from fans, who tried to force it to get up to continue with its entertainment.
“We must remember that last year, the bull died as a result of the brutality of the event, which shows the organizers' lack of animal welfare and prevention,” says Aïda Gascón. "However, the worst does not have to happen for these images to shock anyone; the normality of tradition is already tremendously sad for animals," she adds.
Regional legislation requires the slaughter of all cattle used in bullfighting shows (article 23 of Decree 14/1999, of February 8, which approves the Regulation of Popular Bullfighting Shows of the Community of Castilla y León). However, article 5 of the Municipal Ordinance establishes an exception in the Toro Jubilo, “following secular custom, he will be pardoned at the end of the celebration.”
In Medinaceli, the bull's head is smeared with mud to reduce burns from fireballs. Iron devices tightened with screws are installed at the ends of the bull's horns, and balls are lit with flammable liquid so that it burns like a torch. The bull flees and runs, trying to get away from the presence of the fire, but it is useless. This spectacle of animal suffering can last up to an hour or until the fireballs, called “fish balls,” are extinguished.
Despite the absence of visible injuries, these types of spectacles inflict intense suffering, both physical and emotional, on the bulls. It is noted that fighting bulls and other bovids are animals that experience stress, fear and suffering when separated from their social group, subjected to unknown noises and stimuli, and manipulated in a violent manner. In addition, transportation, confinement, movement restriction and hunger also contribute to stress and suffering in animals.
"We can identify every detail that generates suffering for animals in bullfighting events like the one in Medinaceli, but despite having science and common sense on our side, it seems that the thoughtless desire to have fun with the pain of an animal It is what prevails in our country,” says Gascón. “Tradition or custom do not justify the immorality of enjoying the suffering of others, that is intolerable from any point of view,” he adds.
In events such as the Toro Jubilo there are three main sources of emotional suffering in the bulls: due to the loss of vision and sensory capacity due to constant exposure to fire, suffering due to fear, since the fire and sudden movements are perceived as danger signals from animals, and finally, suffering due to stress, caused by transportation, noisy environment, limited space, immobilization and harassment of the public.
Regarding physical suffering, veterinarians identify two main forms: metabolic acidosis, caused by the physical effort to which bulls are subjected and which can cause muscle fatigue, respiratory difficulty and cardiac disorders. And of course, muscle injuries, derived from the inadequacy of bulls to perform strenuous exercises and which can manifest themselves in the form of falls and other muscular disorders.
The Jubilo Bull Festival was declared a “Traditional Bullfighting Show” by Order of the Junta de Castilla y León.
According to the most widespread opinion, the celebration has Celtiberian origins, and the rite would be commemorating the victory of the Celtiberians over the Carthaginians in the battle of Hélice (Elche, Alicante), in the year 229 BC.
In any case, the first written documents about the Medinaceli Jubilee (there are some from 1490) indicate that the bull was run in honor of illustrious visitors.
However, since the end of the 18th century, the Jubilee Bull has been celebrated, uninterruptedly and at least once a year, with the festivity of the Holy Bodies, five martyrs (Arcadio, Probo, Pascasio, Eutiquiano and Paulilo) whose bodies They were brought to the Villa after having suffered martyrdom in North Africa.
