Alcohol restrictions and other measures allow
240-year-old event to go ahead
Mexico News Daily | Friday, February 2, 2018
The annual celebration of Candlemas in
Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, means it’s time to run with the bulls on the streets of
the “magical town.”
But this year’s event was a notably kinder,
gentler version than that of previous years.
In the past the bulls were forced to swim
about 250 meters across the Papaloapan river but yesterday they were
transported in boats.
Once they reached shore the animals were
released on streets that were cordoned off with metal and and bamboo fencing,
offering extra protection for locals and visitors alike, and homes and
storefronts along the way.
And those brave — or crazy — enough to try
their luck at running with the bulls had to register first, pledging that they
would cause no physical harm to the animals.
The event has been severely criticized in
recent years for being cruel to the bulls but changes were ushered in by a
new animal protection law dictating that anyone who harmed the bulls could
be fined up to 15,000 pesos (about US $810) and even spend time in jail.
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