US 'running of the bison' rejected

Officials in the historic Old West US town of Deadwood have turned down a proposal to hold a festival modelled on the running of the bulls in Pamplona - but with bison chasing people down Main St.

Bulls have run on the streets of Pamplona, Spain, since the late 16th century. But Deadwood’s mayor and city commissioners in South Dakota were told bison are far less predictable and much more dangerous, to both participants and spectators.

Despite their size – up to a tonne – they can run as fast as 35 mph.

Lynn Namminga of the Prairie Hills Audubon Society also predicted that animal-rights groups would condemn Deadwood for forcing buffalo to run within a barrier on a half-mile course through town.

“It’s dumb on so many levels that these promoters should be embarrassed to show their faces here,” he said. “Treating animals cruelly to promote financial self interests is despicable and morally reprehensible.”

Promoters had hoped to use the July 2007 event to highlight the domestic bison industry and sales of bison meat.