AN animal rights protester will run through a Spanish town wearing just plastic horns and a smile to highlight the cruelty of its annual bull-run.

Jonathan Prasad, of Beardwood Park, Blackburn, will join up to 1,000 people from all over the world on a run through the streets of Pamplona.

Jonathan, 29, is taking part in the 'Running of the Nudes' event as part of PETA's (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) campaign to highlight the cruelty of the annual bull run.

The traditional Spanish 'Running of the Bulls' sees a stampede of bulls charge through the streets as residents and tourists scramble to get out of their way, and ends in the bull ring.

Jonathan, who is working towards a PhD at Lancaster University, said he was feeling nervous but excited about taking part in the naked human alternative to bull running, on July 5.

He said: "I turn 30 this year and so decided to find different events to take part in.

"I originally wanted to take part in the bull run but after researching into it, it just seemed ridiculously cruel.

"The bulls are beaten and stabbed with sticks and as the terrified animals flee they often slip, sustaining bruises, cuts and broken bones.

"Petroleum jelly is rubbed in their eyes so they can't see properly and in bad cases their necks are cut so they can't lift their heads up.

"The running with bulls just did not appeal any more so I decided to do this to raise the profile of the bulls' suffering.

"It is much more in keeping with my own personal and ethical beliefs."

Runners from Canada, the US and from almost every European country will join Jonathan, at a vegan barbecue in Pamplona, where they will be given the obligatory red horns, a red scarf and a placard to carry.

They hope that "running in the buff" will not only attract media attention to their cause but also convince tourists and locals alike that naked men and women are a more preferable spectacle to bulls.

Once they have stripped off, some runners choose to write anti-bull fighting slogans on parts of their anatomy for added impact on the kilometre-long jog along the cobbled streets.

Jonathan said: "I kept thinking I should get down to the gym before revealing myself to the general public, but I am too lazy.

"I will just have to strip off and then run like the wind."

PETA supporters have written to the mayor of Pamplona, asking her to embrace the new the 'Running of the Nudes' - and stop the abuse of the bulls.