Nyack Native Gets Naked At Protest In Pamplona

In Pamplona, Spain, ahead of the Running of the Bulls, Rockland County native Dawn Carr, 54, joined dozens of animal advocates adorned with little more than "horns" and red floor-length veils in the heart of the city to push for it to end its gory bullfights.

Members of PETA U.K. and the animal protection group AnimaNaturalis went to the San Fermín festival July 5 to protest.

Carrying signs that read, “Pamplona: Violence and Death for Bulls,” the activists commemorated the animals who are chased down the streets to their death in the bullring each year and called for an end to the annual bloodshed.

"The Running of the Bulls is a cruel and dangerous spectacle that involves torturing and killing 48 bulls over the course of a week," Carr told Patch afterward. "Many tourists who participate in the running don’t realize that the bulls will be stabbed to death in the bullfighting ring immediately afterward. Through our action, we want everyone to know exactly what will happen to these bulls, and we’re calling on Spanish authorities to put an end to this bloody violence."

The red veils and horns were essential, she said. "Sometimes provocative, attention-grabbing actions are the most effective way to get people talking about an issue when they’d rather look the other way. All animals, including the bulls who are killed in Pamplona, are made of flesh, blood, and bone, just like us. And like us, they value their lives and deserve to be treated with kindness."

PETA officials said more than 125 Spanish towns and cities have rejected the torment and butchering of bulls for entertainment, but during the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, the animals are still subjected to confusion and terror and put at risk of injury from crashing into barriers and walls, falling and breaking their legs, or colliding with one another. Once in the bullring, tormentors taunt and stab each bull with a lance and several harpoon-like banderillas before the matador stabs the exhausted animal with a sword. PETA has previously offered Pamplona’s mayor €298,000 to cancel the Running of the Bulls — an offer that still stands.

Patch asked Carr, who is a graduate of North Rockland High School, what she would say to high-schoolers in Rockland County who aren't sure how to help the causes they believe in.

"There are lots of ways that everyone can get involved for causes that are important to them, including organizing protests and demonstrations, distributing literature and setting up info tables at their schools, and of course, voting with their dollars," she said in response.

She recommended her own cause. "All compassionate high-schoolers can take the easy step of going vegan, refusing to dissect animals, calling PETA if they find an animal in need, and refusing to support companies that test on or abuse animals," she said. "peta2, PETA’s youth division, has even more ideas on its website as well as a free vegan starter kit to help people make the switch!"