Animal advocates sue to stop California bull runs

Animal rights groups have filed a federal lawsuit to stop running-of-the-bulls events planned for cities in northern and southern California this summer.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed the lawsuit Thursday to try to halt the Pamplona-style events where hundreds of people run alongside a thundering herd of bulls. The events are tentatively scheduled to be held in Riverside County and Alameda County.

PETA attorney Matthew Strugar tells the Riverside Press-Enterprise that California and its animal-protection laws could prove friendly to his cause where other states have not.

Rob Dickens, co-founder of event organizer The Great Bull Run, says the federal government puts the events in the same category as rodeos, and similar lawsuits “failed miserably.”