(BRUSSELS) - Semi-naked animal rights activists staged a fake-bloody protest outside the European Parliament on Thursday to draw attention to the suffering of bulls during bullfights.

Around 30 people taking part in the protest organised by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) lay on the ground with banderillas, the traditional darts used to wound and weaken bulls in the fight, attached to their backs, some spattered with fake blood.

Bullfighting -- ever popular in Spain -- and the European Union's lack of action to stop the practice, have long raised the hackles of animal rights activists in Europe and the debate has increased in recent years.

Last year several European Parliament lawmakers published a declaration which severely criticised bullfights and demanded that the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, ban them in Europe.

The pro-bullfighting group Mesa del Toro responded at the time that the spectacle was a "European heritage" and that the European Commission did not have the authority to ban a "cultural and traditional" activity which has been held for centuries in Spain.

Text and Picture Copyright 2008 AFP. All other Copyright 2008 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.