The Camargue bull (officially known as the Provençal: Raço di Biòu) is a breed of domestic cattle – uniformly black with lyre-shaped horns – native to the Camargue marshlands of the river delta of the Rhône in southern France. It is used for the traditional sport of course camarguaise, a kind of bloodless bull-fight, but not for the corrida, Iberian-style bull-fighting. In the arenas, the bull is confronted with a dozen razeteurs (Camargue bullfighters) who try to remove the cockade that has been attached between its horns with strings. Fights lasts 15 minutes after which the bull returns to the herd and won't participate in another fight for 2 or 3 weeks. At the end of their career, around the age of 14 or 15, they enjoy a peaceful retirement in the herd. Upon their death, they are buried upright, their head turned toward the sea, with commemorative gravestones or statues.
L'Abrivado (abriva means to speed up in provençal language) consists of bringing the bulls from their pastures to the arenas. The cattle are flanked by cowherds riding their white horses in order to avoid "attrapaires" (young lads from the village) who try to let the bulls escape. The group of horses and bulls trots through the streets of the village as the crowd is cheers.
There are more than 20,000 bulls in the Camargue of which around 2000 are sold each year for beef under licence. Bulls that have appeared in the bull-ring are excluded.
