Your Victoria Times Colonist

Re: "Festival of St. Fermin," photos, July 9.

The photos of the bulls reminded me this is the time of year for many such revolting occasions of utmost cruelty.

The bulls used for such atavistic spectacles are disoriented and terrified, with the odds seriously stacked against them. One website cites 33,000 bulls killed for every matador. My team is not doing very well.

The second photo shows "the running of the bulls" in Pamplona. These frightened and purposely maddened bulls can only run one way -- toward the bullring where they will be held to later be used in bullfights.

In the words of the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, "The question is not 'Can they reason?' nor 'Can they talk?' but rather 'Can they suffer?'"

I urge you to visit the websites maintained by The International Movement Against Bullfights and The World Society for the Protection of Animals. Make your views known to companies that support these sickening occasions of animal torture, sign the online petition and find out how you can take action in ongoing anti-bullfighting campaigns.

Diane McNally,

Victoria.