Bullfighting: culture or cruelty?

Website design By BotEap.comAccording to the World Society for the Protection of Animals, in Latin America and Europe combined, approximately 250,000 bulls die each year. Are these bulls falling prey to a deadly virus, perhaps? Far from there. Bulls are tortured and killed for entertainment. Have we evolved since Roman times?

Website design By BotEap.comThe latest polls show that more than 72% of Spanish citizens have no interest in bullfighting, yet due to a small group of influential people in Spain, this inhuman tradition is still alive. Fortunately, in Europe and Latin America a growing segment of the population opposes bullfighting and calls for an end to this cruel spectacle.

Website design By BotEap.comHere to talk about bullfighting and what we can do to help is Alyx Dow, Program Officer (Anti-Bullfighting) at the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

Website design By BotEap.comThanks for this interview, Alyx. Could you start by giving us some historical information on how bullfighting started? Where are you from?

Website design By BotEap.comThere is not much specific information on how or where bullfighting began, but it is believed to date back to Roman times, when many different species of animals were killed for fun in public arenas.

Website design By BotEap.comBulls were also sacrificed for religious purposes and, more recently, bullfights were held (and are often still held) on Sundays, as part of the festivities for Christian saints.

Website design By BotEap.comMost people associate bullfighting with Spain. Besides Spain, what other countries practice bullfighting?

Website design By BotEap.comWithin Europe, bullfighting can be found in Spain, France, and Portugal. Approximately 40,000 bulls are killed in bullfights each year in Europe.

Website design By BotEap.comIn Latin America, bullfighting can be found in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. ‘Bloodless’ bullfighting can also be found in the US Approximately 210,000 bulls in bullfighting die each year in Latin America.

Website design By BotEap.comDo bullfights differ by country? If so, how?

Website design By BotEap.comThere are 3 types of bullfighting ‘styles’: Spanish, French and Portuguese. The Spanish version is the most common in both Europe and Latin America. Bulls die in both the Spanish and Portuguese versions, although in the Portuguese style it occurs behind the scenes, once the bullfight is over. The French style does not lead to the death of the bull, but it is also very stressful for the animals involved.

Website design By BotEap.comMany people are ignorant of what really happens during a bullfight. They have a simple, even romantic image of a bullfighter mocking a bull and a final sword blow that brings death to the animal. What exactly happens during a bullfight?

Website design By BotEap.comIn the Spanish style, which is the most common, there are 3 stages:

Website design By BotEap.com1. After the bull enters the ring, the bullfighters shake the capes so that the bull charges several times. This is followed by the entry of the picadors on horseback, who drive a long spear into the back of the bulls. Both short stages are designed to tire the bull and weaken the neck and shoulder muscles, causing it to drop its head. There is also a significant risk to the horses involved: although they wear pads, the experience is very stressful for them and can cause serious or fatal injuries.

Website design By BotEap.com2. Men called banderilleros enter the ring and use weapons called banderillas (short colored spears with harpoon tips) that further weaken the bull when they are stabbed into the upper part of the bull’s back. At this point, the bull has lost a significant amount of blood and is exhausted.

Website design By BotEap.com3. The matador enters with cape and sword. Tiring the bull even more with several runs to the cape, the matador pierces the back of the bulls with his sword, with the intention of cutting the aorta. The sword often misses, pierces the lungs, and the bull drowns in its own blood, as can be seen when bulls are often seen with blood gushing from their nose and mouth at the end. If the bull does not die quickly, a small knife is used to cut its spinal cord at the neck. If the crowd considers it to be a “good” death, the matador “rewards” the ears and tail of the bull, which he himself cuts (the bull is often still alive during this period).

Website design By BotEap.comThe entire process takes approximately 20 minutes and the bull suffers an agonizing and torturous death.

Website design By BotEap.comDespite the fact that bullfighting is a cruel and inhuman tradition, many people, not just Spaniards, see this show. Why do you think this is and what does this say about human nature?

Website design By BotEap.comWithin bullfighting countries there is a small but strong number of followers that keep bullfighting alive, largely based on the claim that it is part of the country’s culture. All bullfighting countries have a fascinating history, with a rich culture that they should be proud of. However, the evidence shows us that the majority of the citizens of these countries do not want cruelty to animals to be part of their heritage. As with the UK fox hunting ban, citizens are talking about the importance of animal welfare over an archaic “tradition” that is neither necessary nor human.

Website design By BotEap.comThe latest surveys in Spain show us that more than 72% of Spaniards have no interest in bullfighting. This rises to more than 80% in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Anti-bullfighting sentiment is growing in Europe and Latin America: people oppose the protection of bullfighting as part of the national heritage and call for an end to this cruel spectacle.

Website design By BotEap.comFurthermore, WSPA believes that culture is not an excuse for cruelty, no matter where in the world it occurs or the reason behind it.

Website design By BotEap.comUnfortunately, a great deal of support also comes from tourism; again because tourists are led to believe that bullfighting is part of a particular country. They are unknowingly supporting a dying industry that thrives on the torture of an animal – many abandon fights shaken and disturbed by what they have witnessed, which is simply animal cruelty for the sake of entertainment.

Website design By BotEap.comWhat arguments do bullfighters use to defend their tradition?

Website design By BotEap.comThey use many arguments to defend the show, especially in reference to the culture and the economy. You can read more about these ongoing discussions at Bullfightingfreeeurope.org, a website sponsored by WSPA and ten other animal protection groups across Europe.

Website design By BotEap.comWhat is WSPA doing to end bullfighting? Have there been significant advances in recent years?

Website design By BotEap.comIn Catalonia, WSPA is running its Culture Without Cruelty campaign with member society ADDA, and there have been a number of successes in the region in recent years. 47 municipalities, including Barcelona, ​​have declared themselves anti-bullfighting. You can sign our petition, asking for the prohibition of bullfighting in Catalonia, on our WSPA website.

Website design By BotEap.comIn Spain, WSPA is supporting the work done by member society, Stopourshame.com, which is working to end national subsidies (funded by Spanish taxpayers) awarded to the bullfighting industry, totaling a staggering 530 million euros. euros per year.

Website design By BotEap.comIn France, 3 towns have recently declared their anti-bullfighting status. You can find more information at Anticorrida.com.

Website design By BotEap.comWSPA is also working closely with an alliance of ten other animal protection organizations from across Europe to tackle the problem at the European level. Currently, the EU provides subsidies (funded by EU taxpayers) to fighting bull breeders, as part of its annual agricultural subsidy scheme. We recently held a series of events in Brussels at the European Parliament to highlight this issue and call on parliamentarians and the Commission to end these subsidies. You can find more information at Bullfightingfreeeurope.org

Website design By BotEap.comIn Latin America, many of the WSPA member societies are working to ban bullfighting throughout the region. The first two anti-bullfighting towns in the region have recently been declared. In Medellín, Colombia, the first group of anti-bullfighting councilors was established. You can stay up-to-date with the latest developments on the WSPA International website.

Website design By BotEap.comWhat is the position of Spain?

Website design By BotEap.comIn Spain, there is a small group of powerful and influential people behind the bullfighting industry who keep it alive. The bullrings are suffering from a decline in attendance and a lack of patience from the public in terms of their growing awareness of animal welfare. Unfortunately, government officials are often hesitant to speak out against the show; as was the case a few years ago with fox hunting in the UK. However, the Spaniards are telling us that they have had enough, as demonstrated in Catalonia and the Canary Islands (which have also banned bullfights), and by the recent ban on the broadcasting of bullfights on state television, following the assertion of which is too violent for children. We believe that it is time for the government to listen to its citizens and put a definitive end to bullfighting in Spain.

Website design By BotEap.comDo you think that Spain will outlaw bullfighting in the near future?

Website design By BotEap.comBased on the public opinion polls that have been carried out, the decrease in attendance at bullfights and the achievements of recent years in obtaining anti-bullfighting declarations, we are confident that bullfighting is a dying industry that is being banned in near future.

Website design By BotEap.comIs there a way to modify bullfighting to make it a human practice?

Website design By BotEap.comNo, the practice would still involve placing an animal in an unnatural situation that causes stress and anxiety, for the sake of entertainment. WSPA wants to see an end to bullfighting around the world, in all its forms.

Website design By BotEap.comWhat can Spaniards do to help stop bullfighting in Spain?

Website design By BotEap.comSpaniards can help end bullfighting in their country by writing to their local politicians and high-level officials within the government, expressing their desire for national subsidies to the bullfighting industry to end and for a national legislative ban. of bullfights in Spain. . They can also avoid attending bullfights and spread the word to their friends and family.

Website design By BotEap.comYou can also sign our petition to achieve a ban in Catalonia which can be found on the WSPA website.

Website design By BotEap.comAnother way to help is by supporting your local animal welfare organizations, either through donations or by attending peaceful events calling on the government to end bullfighting.

Website design By BotEap.comIs there anything else you would like to say to our readers?

Website design By BotEap.comWSPA is also campaigning for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) at the United Nations, an international recognition that animals are important and governments should do more to protect them. Such an agreement would help us talk to governments about issues like bullfighting. You can sign the support petition on Animalsmatter.org.

Website design By BotEap.comThank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions on this important topic. I would like to end this interview by quoting some wise words from Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

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