Dozens have been injured during festivals in Spain where bulls are goaded and chased in the streets and now these shocking photos have emerged showing the animals being forced to jump into the sea.
Those celebrating the running of the bulls 'Bous a la mar' (Bulls in the sea) festival have been holding up flags and other items in a bid to make the bulls charge head first into the sea.
This huge brown bull can be seen running into the ocean as a reveller holds up a white piece of cloth.
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Another snap shows a group of five men all trying to tie a black bull to their rowing boat.
Two men are behind the animal with another attempting to fasten rope around its neck and horns while another two row.
The festivals, which take place every year, have been causing some controversy after it was revealed that dozens of bulls die during them.
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In an initial injury round-up off the back of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona it was revealed that two people had been taken to hospital before a spokesman for Pamplona's Hospital Complex later confirmed that another man had also been gored.
One man received wounds to his left leg while the other two were brought into hospital with head injuries.
Despite more than a million people attending the festival each year, activists stage regular protests over the treatment of animals.
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This year, 54 protesters set up a 'crime scene' cordoned off with yellow tape in the town. The supporters of PETA and Spanish animal protection group AnimaNaturalis represented each of the bulls who will endure a bloody slaughter in Pamplona this month after being chased down the streets.
The demonstration saw activists lie down inside the outlines of bulls on a piping hot square in Pamplona city centre.
Banderillas - the weapons used to stab bulls during bullfights - were sticking out of the protesters' backs, reminding onlookers that bulls are made of flesh, blood, and bones and experience fear and pain, just as humans do.
All 54 activists were surrounded by signs which read: "Bulls Killed in Pamplona. Stop Bullfighting."
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According to PETA, more than 80 per cent of Spanish people oppose cruel bullfights, and approximately 56 per cent fewer official bullfights took place in 2018 than in 2007, but the events are able to continue in large part because of tourist money.
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: News, Spain, Animals, News, Spain, Animals