Eight Mexican fighting bulls arrived at Pudong International Airport yesterday evening in preparation for the
Shanghai Spanish Bullfighting Festival.
The city will host the ancient spectacle with three Spanish matadors and their assistants, from both Spain and Mexico, in Yangpu Stadium next weekend.
Weighing about 450 kilograms each, the bulls were airlifted to the city in eight large containers, according to the News Times.
The animals were not anesthetized before the flight so as not to damage their fighting spirit, the paper stated.
Prior to their arrival in the city, the bulls were kept in quarantine for one month and were escorted throughout their trip by inspectors from the
Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.
After reaching the stadium, the animals will undergo a series of quarantine checks for seven consecutive days before doing battle with the matadors.
Inspectors will continually check the bulls' health, sterilize the stadium and even dispose of the animals' waste.
Inspectors will have to collect all the feces and send it to a special site to be destroyed, bureau officials said.
Construction on the bullfighting ring, which is 50 meters in diameter, will finish next Thursday.
The stadium, made up of four stands, can seat 12,949 fans.
"We are confident of the quality of the structure, especially its pressure resistance," said a construction supervisor surnamed Bu, adding that each square meter of the stand can sustain a weight of 500 kilograms.
Address of the Yangpu Stadium: No.640, Longchang Road
How to get there: take Bus 22, 6 or 137 and get off at Lujiazui
Tel:?o?21?o?5390911
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