As a group of men on horseback pursued a 600-kilo bull through the wooded fields outside Tordesillas yesterday, it appeared that the town's centuries-old traditional fiesta, known as Toro de la Vega, was being scrupulously observed.

Local people had lined the streets, protecting themselves behind wooden pallets and makeshift scaffolding, as they watched the animal dash out of the town, over a narrow bridge and into the nearby countryside.

But the horsemen chasing the bull did not spear it to death with long lances, as is the custom. Instead, it was swiftly slaughtered after the fiesta, out of public sight, marking the end of an era in this northwestern town and a major victory for animal rights campaigners in Spain.

A new law, approved in May by the regional government of Castilla y León, decrees that the bull used for the Tordesillas annual fiesta cannot be harmed or killed by participants.

“It’s always been a tradition for me, since I was a little girl, it’s an important tradition because it’s so old,” said Marta García, a local woman who watched the day’s events.

Rebranded

“[Toro de la Vega] has been taken away and we’ve been betrayed and it’s not the same thing now – even the name is different.”

This year, the new, bloodless fiesta has been rebranded as Toro de la Peña.

Many locals shared García’s sentiments, expressing anger at the change to their fiesta, which is held on the second Tuesday of September each year.

“I’d rather the bull didn’t run today,” says Nacho Hernández, a middle-aged man from the town. “This is ridiculous, it’s a bad copy of Toro de la Vega.”

Shortly before the event, Hernández and hundreds of others took part in a demonstration defending the tradition of Toro de la Vega, which reportedly dates back to the 16th century. Marching over the same medieval bridge that the bull would charge across minutes later, the demonstrators chanted against politicians, animal rights groups and the media, which many in the town claim has exaggerated the grisly nature of the Toro de la Vega fiesta.

Flashpoint

The ban on harming the bull followed several years during which Tordesillas had become a notorious flashpoint, with die-hard supporters of the fiesta often confronting animal rights protesters. With the prohibition in place, this year there was only a small band of animal rights campaigners and despite some altercations, they were separated from the townspeople by a police cordon.

The heavy police presence also reflected concerns that participants might flout the new law. An online message published a few days earlier by a group supporting the Toro de la Vega fiesta announced: “It is time to break the law . . . It is time to kill the bull.”

But although one man was held by police for refusing to hand over a sharpened spear before the bull was released, those taking part respected the new regulation and the bull was unharmed. A torrential downpour towards the end of the pursuit of the animal caused many people to seek shelter.

Towns across Spain stage dozens of festivals each year in which animals are harmed. However, Toro de la Vega has been a particular target for animal rights campaigners due to its high profile and gory nature. Last weekend, thousands of people gathered in Madrid to demand an end to other similar fiestas and bullfights.

“Banning Toro de la Vega was a great victory,” Claudia Mañas of the PACMA animal rights party says.

“But it’s just a first step in a long road we have to walk and it ends with the abolition of every single fiesta that tortures animals.”