A running of the bulls Spanish : encierro , from the verb encerrar , 'to corral, to enclose'; Occitan : abrivado , literally 'haste, momentum'; Catalan : bous al carrer 'bulls in the street', or correbous 'bull-runner' is an event that involves running in front of a small group of bulls, typically six [ 1 ] but sometimes ten or more, that have been let loose on sectioned-off streets in a town, [ 1 ] usually as part of a summertime festival. Particular breeds of cattle may be favored, such as the toro bravo in Spain, [ 1 ] also often used in post-run bullfighting , and Camargue cattle in Occitan France, which are not fought.
Bulls non-castrated male cattle are typically used in such events. The most famous bull-run is the encierro held in Pamplona during the nine-day festival of Sanfermines in honor of Saint Fermin. More traditional summer bull-runs are held in other places such as towns and villages across Spain and Portugal, in some cities in Mexico, [ 3 ] and in the Occitan Camargue region of southern France.
Bull-running was formerly also practiced in rural England, most famously at Stamford until The event has its origins in the old practice of transporting bulls from the fields outside the city, where they were bred, to the bullring , where they would be fought and killed in the evening. In Pamplona and other places, the six bulls that run are also in that afternoon's bullfight. Spanish tradition holds that bull-running began in northeastern Spain in the early 14th century.
Cattle herders who wanted to transport their animals from barges or from the countryside into city centers for sale or bullfights needed an easy way to move their precious animals. While transporting cattle in order to sell them at the market, men would try to speed the process by hurrying their cattle using tactics of fear and excitement.
After years of this practice, the transportation and hurrying began to turn into a competition, as young adults would attempt to race in front of the bulls and make it safely to their pens without being overtaken. This tradition is carried on each morning of the San Fermin fiesta in Pamplona, with the bulls being released from their corral at Calle de Santo Domingo to run along a barricaded route through the streets of the old quarter to the bullring at the Plaza de Toros.
