Yebra definitively approves the ordinance regulating bull runs through the countryside

The Yebra City Council has made final the initial plenary agreement for the modification of the Municipal Ordinance regulating the holding of fighting bull runs through the countryside, as no claims were filed during the public exhibition period. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Guadalajara, number 188, dated October 2, 2026, in compliance with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime. The announcement is signed in Yebra, on October 1, 2026, by the mayor Juan Pedro Sánchez Yebra.

The regulation is issued in the exercise of municipal powers and to comply with Decree 60/2016, of October 11, which modifies Decree 38/2013, of July 11, approving the Regulations for Popular Bullfighting Festivals of Castilla-La Mancha. Its purpose is to regulate popular bullfighting spectacles of runs through the countryside held on the occasion of popular festivals, as well as citizen participation in them. The ordinance will enter into force the day following its public exhibition in the Official Gazette of the Province.

Delimited zones and duration of the run

Article 8 establishes at least four duly delimited zones in each run through the countryside:

• Starting zone: where the cattle are positioned to begin the run, according to the Run Plan.
• Release zone: space reserved for riders, runners, and organization, marked to warn non-participants.
• Spectator zone: areas for those who do not participate; anyone who leaves this zone and voluntarily enters the release zone acquires the status of a participant.
• Finishing zone: where the cattle are penned at the end of the event, which may coincide with the corrals.

The duration of the traditional run shall be three hours; if, after that time, it cannot be concluded due to handling problems or situations of special risk, the president will adopt measures for its immediate conclusion within the following thirty minutes. The cattle shall always be accompanied by at least three lead steers, understood as castrated males.

Run plans and control means

Article 9 incorporates two run plans. In Run Plan 1, the starting zone consists of the corrals of the portable bullring, located in the municipality’s football field, and the spectator zone consists of the stands of that ring, with no spectator zone in the field. In Run Plan 2, the portable corrals are located in plot 327 of polygon 4 and there is no spectator zone, therefore those who go to the field will have the status of participants. In both cases, the release zone is composed of plots 308, 58, and 57 of polygon 4, and the finishing zone coincides with the starting zone.

The minimum means provided by the organization are:

• Six horsemen, with identification badges, for the driving and control of the cattle.
• Six vehicles, previously registered at the Yebra Town Hall offices.
• Three lead-ropers and four organization vehicles with the functions of cordoning off and redirecting the cattle.
• One approved tranquilizer dart (stunning rifle), supervised by the authorities and with permission from the veterinary services.

During transfers, a minimum safety distance of two hundred meters shall be maintained between the herd and the rest of the participants. Only vehicles authorized by the Town Hall and communicated to the security forces and bodies may be present, except for ambulances, police vehicles, and civil protection.

Participation, prohibitions, and sanctioning regime

The minimum age to participate in the bullfighting events shall be 16 years. Those presenting symptoms of intoxication, poisoning, or drug use, those suffering from mental alienation, those carrying bottles, glasses, or instruments with which to cause mistreatment to the cattle, or those whose physical conditions make their participation inadvisable, may not participate. It is strictly forbidden to harass the cattle or divert them from their routes, as well as the parking of vehicles on the usual bull-run routes.

The Presidency of the Bullfighting Events corresponds in all cases to the mayor, who may delegate it to a councilor, and is the authority that directs the celebration and may order its suspension in accordance with Law 7/2011, of March 21, on Public Spectacles of Castilla-La Mancha and the bullfighting regulatory norms. No one is obliged to participate, and doing so constitutes a freely assumed risk, without municipal responsibility for incidents.

An administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement before the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha, based in Albacete, within two months from the day following the publication of the announcement, pursuant to article 46 of Law 29/1998, of July 13.

The new ordinance directly affects the peñas (social clubs), horsemen, runners, and residents who participate every year in the Yebra bull-runs, as it sets in writing the zones, the control means required of the organization, and the conditions for participation. With its entry into force, the Town Hall will have its own framework to authorize, monitor and, if applicable, suspend celebrations that take place through the countryside and the urban center of the municipality.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Guadalajara, No. 188, of October 2, 2026, TOWN HALLS section, pág. 1-7 (official reference: 2026_2561).