One of the cruelest rituals takes place in September in Tordesillas, during which a bull is viciously tortured and killed. In the latest event, Afligido was speared to death, his tail cut off while he was still alive.

The Toro de la Vega is notorious for its brutality; during this annual tradition, a bull is released into the streets, chased and harassed by some hundreds of men armed with lances. The bull is beaten with sticks and stabbed until he collapses from exhaustion and pain after which the final death blow is delivered.