On July 8th and 9th, the investigation team from AnimaNaturalis and CAS International documented one of the cruelest aspects of Dénia's local festivals: the bous a la mar (bulls to the sea), a spectacle that involves harassing young bulls and cows to force them off a purpose-built platform into the harbor waters. What some call tradition or entertainment becomes a hellscape for the animals – marked by terror, blows, scorching heat, and exhaustion.
After plunging into the water, the animals face continuous harassment from swimmers until rescued by boat. The accompanying footage shows harrowing scenes: a cow named Nevada, with nearly white fur, endured seventeen minutes of pure agony during this pursuit.
The bous a la mar festival is marketed as a traditional tourist attraction, but for animals it's torture. Amid a heatwave (over 35 °C in the shade), bulls are released into a narrow pen amid shouting and music. Once freed, crowds chase them through the streets hurling wet t-shirts, flags, and empty bottles. The only "instinct" these herbivorous bulls have is to flee. Yet as ruminants, they fatigue rapidly.
Sun scorches their backs while their breathing grows labored, until they collapse exhausted on the sand. Despite organizers claiming no direct physical harm occurs, multiple scientific studies prove otherwise: bulls subjected to this display show critically elevated cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and suffer extreme psychological trauma and physical exhaustion. The chaotic noise and violence disorient them: Nevada repeatedly tried escaping through the platform boards, slipped while attempting to climb them, and fell face-first multiple times. All this occurred amid shouts of "To the water!", pushed toward an unnatural environment.
Statistics don't bleed
Our reporting gives these tragedies names and faces because we refuse to reduce lives to numbers or statistics. Nevada isn't "just another one": she's a cow with terrified eyes who suffered intensely. Before release, she heard hundreds of people clamoring while trapped in a narrow crate. Upon release, she tried to flee but the human mob surrounded, harassed, and chased her in a seemingly endless ordeal. She endured blows and heat exhaustion, vainly trying to escape through the crowd. Finally, pressured by the advancing mass, Nevada leaped into the sea—not knowing what awaited below.
Far from finding peace, swimmers continued harassing her in the water. Rescuers took nearly four minutes to pull her onto a boat: once aboard, she trembled like a leaf, tongue hanging out, too weak to stand. Nevada, like all bulls, is a sentient being capable of pain and fear; her confusion and terror were palpable. Defending these animals isn't about fighting statistics—it's fighting for every Nevada living her own nightmare in the name of "tradition".
This spectacle carries a tragic history. Multiple accidents—some fatal to both humans and animals—have occurred in recent decades. In 2012, a bull drowned in this same bay. Ten years later in 2022, after two summers without festivals due to the pandemic, the bous a la mar returned with alarming results: seven people were injured in the first session alone, four requiring hospitalization.
On July 11, 2023, another bull drowned in Dénia under near-identical circumstances to 2012. This incident forced local authorities to cancel remaining festivities. The measure proved insufficient—history repeated in 2024: on August 31, a bull drowned during bous a la mar festivities in neighboring Xàbia.
These events highlight the inherent risks of these spectacles for both animals and people. Consequently, Dénia's City Council decided in 2024 to eliminate midday releases, coinciding with peak heat exposure. Raúl García de la Reina, Festivities Councilor, publicly acknowledged this decision as "a step toward commitment to animal welfare," adding it saved approximately €10,000 in festival funds.
"How can self-proclaimed progressive governments continue endorsing and publicly funding this archaic torture? Bous a la mar are the antithesis of a compassionate society. They trap bulls, harass them under blazing sun, then force them into a hostile environment where they can drown or suffer cardiac arrest—as has happened. Every death is this municipality's ethical failure", states Aïda Gascón, Director of AnimaNaturalis Spain. "We're only perpetuating cruelty education for new generations—a message of insensitivity and domination through brute force".
AnimaNaturalis and CAS International join hundreds of activists demanding abolition. Help us share these images and stories by supporting our campaign FiestasCrueles.org. Join our efforts to give every suffering bull and cow a name and face—and to never look away. Nevada and thousands like her deserve lives free from bloodshed and torment. Every recorded heartbeat of panic wounds our own humanity and demands these festivals end immediately.
