'Speared' activists protest Spain's Pamplona bull runs

Animal rights protesters demonstrate for the abolition of bullfights one day before the start of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain, July 5, 2019. REUTERS/Susana Vera

PAMPLONA, Spain (Reuters) - Dozens of half-naked protesters lay on the street with fake spears jutting from their backs on the eve of the Spanish festival of San Fermin on Friday, in a recreation of the technique used to weaken bulls in a bullfight.

Ahead of the festivities in Pamplona, in which hundreds of people run from specially-bred bulls through narrow streets, the demonstrators were highlighting what they see as animal cruelty.