The controversial bull-lancing festival is underway in the Spanish town of Tordesillas. <br /><br /> This year is different because authorities have banned people from killing the bull as part of the celebrations. <br /><br /> Now the bull will be chased before being led away to be slaughtered.<br /><br /> A poll carried out earlier this year found that fifty-eight percent of adults in Spain opposed bullfighting.<br /><br /> The survey for World Animal Protection found that just nineteen percent approved.<br /><br /> “Last year there were 50,000 people here to watch the Toro de la Vega,” said bull lancing supporter Andres Merino, “and that is for a reason: people like it.”<br /><br /> Tordesillas celebra el primer ‘Toro de la Peña’ con pelea entre partidarios y detractores https://t.co/CpUM13KEwl pic.twitter.com/QGLHGcjAl5— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) September 13, 2016<br /><br /> “Anybody with at least a little bit of intelligence won’t dare kill a bull like this and these people actually enjoy it,” said one animal rights activist. “What do you want me to say about them. They are savages and inhuman.”<br /><br /> Spain’s centuries-old traditions involving the ritual slaying of bulls are facing rising opposition by many who claim the events are cruel. <br /><br /> In 2011 the northeastern region of Catalonia banned bullfighting outright. <br /><br /> Enfrentamientos en #Tordesillas entre partidarios del #TorodelaVega con animalistas antes del Toro de la Peña. pic.twitter.com/HUQFRzqaxR— Tropa Antifa (@TropaAntifa) September 13, 2016<br />
