Lake Elsinore Says No To 'Great Bull Run'

Lake Elsinore will not be hosting a scaled-down version of Spain's annual Running of the Bulls festival.

An application for a special event permit to hold a "Great Bull Run" in Lake Elsinore was rejected by city staff this week.

Lake Elsinore City Manager Grant Yates said public safety was the deciding factor for issuing the decline. 

“We are the action sports capital of the world where our residents and visitors can dream extreme,” Yates said in a released statement. “However, unlike most of the action sports and events in our community, this event invited inexperienced, untrained and unprotected participants to take part in what could be a dangerous and unpredictable activity.” 

A special event permit application was submitted by The Great Bull Run LLC to the city for a bull run to be held March 8, 2014 at the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park. According to city officials, the proposed event invited anyone to participate in a stylized rodeo production, in which the participants run down a dirt lane lined with rodeo paneling alongside and in front of running bulls and steers in a reproduction of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. 

Since the event was announced earlier this year, the city council and staff received hundreds of emails regarding safety concerns for the animals and the participants of the event, according to the city.

Section 5.108.170 of the city’s Municipal Code authorizes the city manager to deny an application for various reasons including finding that the safety, health or public welfare of the citizens would be endangered by granting the permit. The event applicant was notified about the city’s decision Nov. 6. According to Section 5.108.040 of the Municipal Code, the applicant has five days to file an appeal with the city council. 

Lake Elsinore city leaders will be receiving flowers and a box of vegan chocolates from PETA, thanks to their decision to deny the permit, according to a released statement from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"Bull runs mean collisions, falls, broken legs, trampling, and other potentially fatal outcomes for everyone involved, from the bulls to the bystanders," PETA Foundation Director Delcianna Winders said in the statement. "PETA commends Lake Elsinore for recognizing these risks and sending this cruel outfit packing."