BOUS A LA MAR 'NOT CRUEL'

Banning the event is not on the cards - neither is a referendum

BANNING the controversial Bous a la mar 'festival' in Dénia is not on the cards and a referendum will not be called, stresses fiesta councillor Eva Ronda (Compromís).

Dénia's 11-day-long summer pageantry, which includes the Moors and Christians, parades in Falla costumes, sports tournaments and live music, dance and theatre, starts today (Friday, July 8).

Tomorrow will bring the first of the bull-runs through the streets which end in the port, with bulls released one at a time into a ring open onto the sea.

Spectators can enter the ring freely, and try to torment the bulls so they jump into the water to escape.

Whilst Sra Ronda says she 'respects the views' of those who have long been protesting against the Bous a la mar, she has no plans to stop it happening because 'it does not involve animal cruelty'.

Despite bulls having drowned in the sea, getting their tails pulled and becoming stressed, upset and overheated, Eva Ronda insists: "If we had any evidence at all of animal abuse, we would of course scrap the event, but that's not the case."

And the organisers keep watch to ensure spectators 'do not throw things at the bulls', she states.

"It's not like the bous embolats, which do involve illtreatment," the councillor concludes, referring to the practice of tying lighted torches to bulls' horns and letting them loose in a ring.