Comic by Karl Bakla (NSFW)
The bull got somebody today.
(Feminist Question of the Day: Do women ever engage in this foolishness, or is it primarily a dude thing?)
From the London Telegraph:
Man gored to death in Pamplona bull run
By Fiona Govan in Madrid
Published: 2:56PM BST 10 Jul 2009
I guess it's supposed to be fun, but for sheer daredevil-kicks, I prefer NASCAR, which doesn't require using animals.
Daniel Jimeno Romero, a 27-year-old from Madrid, was gored to death during the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona and nine others were injured in what became the bloodiest run in decades.
Mr Romero died after a bull's horn pierced his neck and lungs during the half mile sprint through the cobbled streets of the northern Spanish town. He is the first man to be gored to death during the run for 14 years.
He was brought down by a 1,130 lb (515 KG) brown beast named Capuchino which became disorientated and aggressive after separating from the pack of bulls.
Each morning at 8 o'clock during the eight-day fiesta six fighting bulls are released to stampede through the winding streets to the bullring.
Fuelled by alcohol during what has become one of Europe's biggest street parties, participants test their bravado and sprint alongside the bulls while attempting to dodge their horns.
Friday's run, the fourth of this year's San Fermin festival was described as the bloodiest in decades and raised the death toll to 15 since record-keeping began in 1911.
Mr Romero was treated at the local hospital but surgeons were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead at 8.45 am.
"He suffered mortal injuries, so there was nothing we could do to save his life," said Esther Vila, the surgeon who operated on him."He had lost a great deal of blood."
Pamplona´s mayor Yolanda Barcina expressed her devastation at the death. "In 11 years as mayoress, nothing like this has ever happened before," she said.
Video footage showed one man being flipped into the air by the bull who then repeatedly charged him as he lay curled on the ground.
Others attempted to leap over wooden barriers that line the route to escape the lethal horns of the bull who charged anyone in his path. But at least three other people were gored by the animal raised on the Jandilla ranch, which has a reputation for breeding aggressive bulls that perform well in the ring.
Another six people were being treated for injuries, said a spokesman at the Virgen del Camino hospital in Pamplona.
Among them was a 61-year-old American man who was said to be in a serious condition in intensive care having suffered head injuries.
Another American man in his sixties suffered a fractured elbow and a 20 year-old British man was reportedly being treated for minor injuries.
An Australian, an American, a Scottish man and a Swiss national were injured in other runs this week.
The last fatality occurred in 2003, when local man Fermin Etxberri, 63, was trampled to death. Friday's death was the first fatal goring since that of American Matthew Tassio in 1995.
Tens of thousands travel to Pamplona each July, where dressed in white clothes and red neckerchiefs they participate in the fiesta made famous by Ernest Hemingway in his novel, The Sun Also Rises.
