Animal rights groups launch plea to end Denia's cruel 'Bulls in the Sea' fiesta

Event causes suffering to animals and endangers the public, insists animal welfare political party PACMA

The ongoing debate over tradition versus animal welfare has reared its head in Denia once again, over the annual ‘Bous a la Mar’ (Bulls in the Sea) event, which forms part of the town’s principal fiestas.

A variant of the more common ‘Bous a la calle’ (Bulls in the street), participants aim to goad the bulls into chasing them, then escape by either jumping into the sea or getting the bull to fall in the sea. This version is only held in a few coastal towns in the Valencia and Cataluña regions, and the one in Denia was declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest in 1993.

Animal welfare political party PACMA has once again called on the town hall not to authorise this year’s event, or indeed any more after that, arguing that it “generates controversy year after year for the evident suffering that it causes to the animals involved and the risks to the general public”.

PACMA’s national president, Javier Luna, acknowledges that celebrations like these are defended for being “a tradition”, but at the same time reminds that “on several occasions incidents have happened which have ended in the death of animals”.

One of the most recent such incidents was in July 2023, when a bull drowned after throwing itself into the sea during the event, and other animals also lost their lives in similar incidents in 2012 and 2014.

“The bulls are exposed to a hostile environment of noise, incitement, bullying and exposure to the water, which generates extreme stress in them that in some cases proves lethal,” assures Luna.

He is leading a campaign against this fiesta, with the slogan: “Throw a lifejacket to the bulls in the sea.”

PACMA also emphasises that these events “are not just an ethical problem, but also one of public safety”. In 2022, a dozen young people were injured during the celebrations.

“The combination of scared animals, people who are often under the influence of alcohol and an unsuitable urban environment comprise a high-risk scenario, both for the participants and the spectators,” the political party insists.

The constant controversy over the Bull in the Sea events is proof that society has changed and no longer accepts spectacles like this, according to PACMA.

Instead, they propose, Denia should become “a national reference point for cultural evolution”, by replacing these celebrations with artistic, musical or sporting activities “which preserve the local identity without causing suffering to animals”.

These ethical alternatives could be discussed and planned by setting up a committee involving animal rights associations and the general public, they say.

Image: PACMA