EXCLUSIVE: 'Barbaric' moment bull has blazing balls of fire attached to its ... trends now
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Each November, the residents of Medinaceli, Spain taunt, cheer and dart around a burning bull as he runs, terrified, through the streets. The historic town is steeped in tradition, home to carefully preserved Roman relics and Medieval castles. But among them, the Toro Jublio stands out as the greatest anachronism.
The Medieval festival involves tying the animal to a post, slathering it in a sticky, black substance made from coal tar or petroleum, and setting its horns on fire. The bulls smash into walls in panicked attempts to escape the flames, which can stay alight for hours, scorching their horns, eyes and body.
Footage recorded by animal protection group AnimaNaturalis and shared with MailOnline via PETA shows a group of men holding down the bull as he tries to struggle free at the event on Sunday, November 12. Pulled by his tail, the animal is wound around the post before being set loose.
Tragic scenes show the bull in quieter moments stood alone, caked in mud, visibly confused and unable to shake off the fire attached to his face. At times he slips, falls and members of the crowd rush in to poke at him or pull on his tail. Meanwhile, fireworks sound overhead as the centuries-old tradition comes to an end.
'Attaching balls of burning pitch to a live animal is barbaric and puts a stain on Spain's reputation in the
