Bulls into the Sea

At the “Bous a la Mar” in Dénia, Spain, a crowd chases bulls and cows through the streets, aiming to make them jump into the sea. The animals not only suffer stress and panic; some have even drowned.

On its website, the animal rights organization Cas International describes what happens at this “bull festival”, which took place from July 3rd to 12th this year:

“The event begins in a square in Dénia, where the bulls and cows are kept inside a pen. Once the gate is opened, the animals are forced to run through the streets, surrounded by loud music and a shouting crowd. They are driven towards the harbour, where a temporary arena has been set up next to the water.

Once there, spectators entertain themselves by chasing the bulls and cows towards the edge of the quay using wet T-shirts, flags and empty bottles. The aim is to make the animals jump into the sea. Once in the water, they are surrounded by people who swim around them and drive them towards small boats. From there, the animals are supposedly brought back to shore ‘safely’.”

A joint team from Cas International and AnimaNaturalis filmed the event in Dénia on July 4 and 5—just as they did for the San Fermín festival in Pamplona.

The images capture just a few moments from a week in which the same animals are used over and over again - while suffering from exhaustion and constant stress. They row in the sea in fear of death, desperately trying to stay afloat. Some pay for this with their lives: In Dénia, this last happened in 2023, when a bull drowned. CAS International and AnimaNaturalis subsequently called on the municipality to completely discontinue “Bous a la Mar.” The municipality did not do so, but it did decide to cancel the afternoon events—thereby halving the number of runs. It presented the use of fewer animals and the elimination of runs during the hottest part of the day as measures to reduce animal suffering.

The following year, in 2024, another bull drowned during a “Bous a la Mar” event in the nearby town of Xàbia.

This text was first published on my German website and translated by me.