The final day of the 2026 San Fermin festival confirmed the immense danger of one of the most controversial events in Europe. The eighth and final encierro of Pamplona, staged along the traditional and slippery city course of 848.6 metres, saw the massive bulls of the Jandilla ganadería complete their race in just 2 minutes and 25 seconds. A very short time but enough to sow chaos and send the local rescue system managed by the Red Cross into a tailspin.
The medical outcome of the last day is dramatic: ten wounded in total, three of which were deeply wounded. At the Town Hall, a runner suffered a serious injury to his inner thigh resulting in bleeding. A few meters further on, on the Telefonica stretch, a second participant suffered a dangerous blow to the chest, while a third was hit by a horn near the famous Estafeta street. All three of the seriously injured were urgently hospitalized at the University Hospital of Navarra in a stable but confidential condition, while the rest of the crowd was treated for head trauma, dislocations and crushing due to the crowd.
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The overall balance and impact of foreign tourists
With the stroke of midnight, Pamplona closed the 2026 edition with a final balance of 57 hospitalizations in eight races. The seriously injured also include five foreign tourists: two British, an Australian, an American and a German citizen, the latter suffering a painful gore in the left arm. The organizers and veterans of the race point the finger at the inexperience of overseas visitors, who often join the crowd ignoring the rigid codes of behavior and the trajectories of the animals, triggering disastrous falls with a domino effect on the wet pavement.
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Let’s stop this machine of suffering
But it doesn’t matter whether they are foreigners or locals, presenting this violent race as a precious cultural heritage is a marketing operation that attempts to mask a reality of exploitation and gratuitous suffering. Forcing frightened animals to slip and injure themselves on city streets, terrified by the cries of a crowd seeking thrills, is not folklore: it is a manifestation of legalized cruelty that tramples on every principle of respect for animal life in the name of a test of courage that is now meaningless.
It is equally unacceptable that in 2026 taxpayers will have to take on the burden of a mammoth public relief machine mobilized exclusively to stem the damage of dangerous gambling and gambling. Dedicating doctors, ambulances and entire hospital wards to those who deliberately choose to be chased by a bull takes precious resources away from healthcare. This anachronistic and bloody spectacle can no longer find space in a civil society.
