Bear markets are good for bulls.

This week in Pamplona, the bulls are running.  Every morning at 8AM from July 7-14, six bulls will be released into the streets of the old city, and will run a half mile course, through a crowd of thousands of people.  Ironically, for an event billed for its danger, much of the peril has been taken out of it.  The entire route is double-fenced to keep the bulls from breaking through or losing their way.  At the most dangerous corner, the slippery cobblestones have been covered in hoof-gripping rubber treads.  And, running along with each day's pack of six bulls are six tame and experienced steers, who help to keep the pack calm and focused.  The whole thing is over in about 3 minutes.  No wonder, then, that there have been only 15 fatalities in the last century.

Human fatalities, that is.  As for the bulls, well, you can probably guess what happens to them later in the day.  They enter the bullfighting ring, and well, um, you know.

Lately, however, the number of bulls that suffer that fate has been declining.  That's because much of the bullfighting industry is supported by state funding, and that funding has dried up in the recent recession.  Throughout many smaller cities and towns, the number of bullfight-related festivals and fiestas has been reduced by about 20%.  And the ones that are still taking place have been scaled back significantly due to low tourist attendance and spending.

Meanwhile, up in Catalonia, home to a quarter of all Spaniards, bullfighting may be eliminated altogether.  Under pressure from PETA and other animal rights groups, the provincial council will vote in mid-July whether to ban the practice.  (Other events that don't involve the killing of bulls would remain legal, such "correbou," where people chase bulls through the streets and "bouembolat," where bulls are forced to run around with flaming wax balls on their horns.) 

All in all, this is a relatively good time to be a Spanish bull.  Less government spending and fewer tourists means less blood in the sand.  You can just hang out in your pasture.  Eat some grass.  Flirt with some cows.

If you're lucky, you may live a long happy life.  Unless you don't mind the humiliation of folks using your headgear for a candelabra.  ¡Ay Dios Mio!