Every year on February 1 in Tlacotalpan a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz bulls are horrifically tortured during the "Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria" festival. Liquor is poured down the bulls' throats, and the animals are tied to boats and dragged across a river before being set loose in the streets. Participants then chase, beat, and stab the terrified animals with bats and knives. The torture continues for hours as drunken residents throw bricks and trash at the animals, kick and punch them, and cut off their ears. Surviving bulls are then turned out to pasture, no doubt left to suffer from their injuries. For photos of this barbaric event, click here.
Despite a ban put in place in 2006 by the Governor of Veracruz, the festival continues. Furthermore, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has named Tlacotalpan a "World Heritage Site," a prestigious title given to locations of cultural or physical significance.
Please contact city and state officials and urge them to ban this bloody and sadistic "tradition." Ask UNESCO to revoke Tlacotalpan's World Heritage Site status in light of this shameful event, and let Mexican tourism officials know that you will not travel to Tlacotalpan or Veracruz until this horrifying festival is brought to an end.
Please help stop the suffering. Sign the petition below.
I am horrified by the inexplicably cruel way in which participants are allowed to torture bulls during the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria in Tlacotalpan. Liquor is poured down the bulls' throats, and the animals are tied to boats and dragged across a river before being set loose in the streets. Participants then chase, beat and stab the terrified animals with bats and knives. The torture continues for hours as drunken residents throw bricks and trash at the animals, kick and punch them, and cut off their ears. Surviving bulls are then turned out to pasture, no doubt left to suffer from their injuries.
I write today to ask that state and local officials enforce the Veracruz governor's 2006 ban on this sadistic ritual. I also urge UNESCO officials to revoke Tlacotalpan's status as a World Heritage site. I also will not travel to Tlacotalpan or Veracruz until this barbaric event is brought to a halt.
