The world famous Running of the Bulls started on Saturday in Pamplona, Spain during the San Fermin festival. In the first day alone, four people were reportedly hurt and one person was gored.
Thousands packed into the streets of the Northern Spanish town, trying to avoid getting run over by the bulls that run wild in the street. According to the Associated Press, the Spanish Red Cross confirmed that four people were taken to a hospital after the 8 a.m. running. Another person was gored in the thigh. None of the four in the hospital are in serious condition, the regional government said.
According to the International Business Times, the festival lasts nine days, with the revelers drinking wine and champaign between bull runs. The festival officially kicks off when a Chupinazo rocket was launched at noon.
The Running of the Bulls became internationally known in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises in 1926. Since then, the event has been a tourist draw. Since 1924, 15 people have been killed in the event.
However, as the AP also noted, animal rights activists have protested the traditional event, pointing out that 48 bulls are killed annually.