Toro de la Vega

Lancing and death of a bull during Toro de la Vega in Tordesillas, Spain, 2014.

The Toro de la Vega (Bull of the Meadow) is a Spanish medieval bull festival and tournament celebrated in the town of Tordesillas in Valladolid, Spain.[1][2] The tournament consists of hundreds of lancers chasing – either by foot or on horseback – a bull through town streets, corralling it into an open area. Once the bull has been drawn out away from town, it is killed by spearing. The tournament follows a series of strict rules and procedures dating back to the mid 16th century.

The festival has faced legal challenges from animal rights activists since the early 2010s, leading to a regional ban in 2016 and a ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court in 2019 outlawing the killing of bulls as part of the tournament. Since its initial regional ban, the festival has removed the killing portion of the ritual and billed itself as the Toro de la Peña (Bull of [Virgin Mary]).[3][4]

  1. ^ Bekoff, Marc (25 November 2009). Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, 2nd Edition [2 volumes]: Second Edition. ABC-CLIO. pp. 98–99. ISBN 9780313352560.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Euro, News (13 September 2016). "'Toro de la Pena' bull-lancing festival spurs controversy in Spain". euronews. Retrieved 13 September 2016. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ Frayer, Lauren (23 September 2016). "In Spain's Tordesillas, Pelado the bull encounters both anger and pleasure tied to his fate". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 September 2016.