An ancient art form deeply rooted in national history
A matador was gored to death by a bull today.
Victor Barrio, 29, a professional bullfighter, was killed when the bull’s horn pierced his chest.
The fight, in the eastern town of Teruel, was being broadcast live on TV.
Bullfighting really pisses me off. National tradition, skill, artistry, blah blah – yes but all of that is in aid of torturing an animal to death in front of a crowd, as entertainment. It’s fucked up six ways from Sunday, and it should just stop.
About 2,000 bullfights are still held every year in Spain, but the numbers are falling. In 2010, Catalonia became the second Spanish region after the Canary Islands to ban the tradition.
Opponents describe the blood-soaked pageants as barbaric, while fans – including Mr Rajoy – say the tradition is an ancient art form deeply rooted in national history.
So what? “Ancient” doesn’t excuse anything. “Art form” doesn’t excuse torture. “Deeply rooted in national history” doesn’t excuse anything.
I have always despised bull fighting. The bull has barbs implanted in its shoulders that cause great suffering. And gets slaughtered by a macho-mike who has to dominate the animal. It’s an expression of great sadism which is celebrated by those cheering in the crowds. Perverse.
Early this century, there was a referendum in Oklahoma to ban cock-fighting (which is also extremely cruel and horrible). It passed by only 55%, then a judge said they couldn’t enforce the ban because most of the people who voted against it were in the metro areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa (which makes sense, since that is where the bulk of the people live), and not in the rural areas where it is actually practiced.
We heard a lot about tradition, then, too. Even Texas was writing articles condemning Oklahoma’s practice of cock-fighting (only 2 states where it remained legal, and Texas was not one of them) and mocking the argument that it would lead to a ban on hunting. Texas does not have cock fighting, but the idea that they would ban hunting is laughable.
Still, tradition. So they put knives on birds and set them to fight one another to the death. Disgusting practice.
Doesn’t Texas round up and torture rattlesnakes to death every so often?
Someone like Peter Singer would probably argue that 10 billion animals killed every year in factory farms is way worse, and if we care about the interests of non-human animals, then we should focus on where the suffering is the worst. Don’t get me wrong I am against this cultural practice, as I’m certain Singer is too, but maybe we need to tie the killing of bulls to the general misery of factory farmed animals
I’m against factory farming and all animal baiting ‘sports’. However, farming, whether you agree with the principle of meat eating aside, has a point. It feeds and clothes people and provides many and varied products used in other industries and medicine. It’s hard to see any redeeming features in bull fighting, cock fighting or dog/bear baiting etc.
If we have to exploit animals at least we should behave as ethically as we can about it.
“It’s hard to see any redeeming features in bull fighting, cock fighting or dog/bear baiting etc.”
You don’t thin they eat the bull after killing it in bullfighting?
I hate bullfighting.
And “tradition” and “ancient” and “art form” and “national history” are the most uncompelling and meaningless reasons for anything that I can think of.
Bullfights are disgusting. People who enjoy watching a magnificent animal like that suffer and agonize until the coup de grace is finally delivered are sick in the head.
@6, I think it is irrelevant if they do. Eating the bull is inconsequential to the act of having tortured it to death first. In any case, if they were killing it for meat, it would be so loaded with stress hormones and lactic acid that it would be tainted. Slaughterhouses actually make an effort to minimise stress on animals to improve meat quality.
I’m surprised that the Eurocrats haven’t banned bullfighting, perhaps that’s because it’s “an art form deeply rooted in national history”. There are disturbing reminders of the Roman arena in bullfighting.
Rob.
Since we’re on the subject of animal welfare, I can report that because of institutionalised and widespread cruelty, greyhound racing has been banned in one state and a territory here in Oz, it’s a start. The lawyers will be in a feeding frenzy.
RJW – I believe there was discussion at EU level about bull fighting, but culture, tradition, yada yada yada….
I noted the banning of greyhound racing. That seemed to come out of nowhere. Will be interesting to see if that spreads to other States or to NZ. As a sport it has a pretty poor name.
@Rob #5: Yes, factory farming “feeds and clothes people and provides many and varied products used in other industries and medicine”.
So, animal torture on factory farms provides a service, but bullfighting does not?
Bullfighting provides a service of making many people happy who enjoy it.
Eating factory farmed meat makes many people happy who enjoy it.
I fail to see the difference. The motive of the bullfighter is to kill the bull, knowing it will be painful for the bull. The motive of the factory farmer is to raise and kill the animal knowing that it will be painful for the animals.
Perhaps the bullfighter wants to make the bull suffer, but the factory farmer doesn’t necessarily want to make his animals suffer. But he knows they will. So I don’t see any moral difference.
Chuck, you’re putting words in my mouth. Read my comment at 5 again.
I then go on to talk about ‘farming’. Where I come from that is typically open field grass fed sheep and beef farming. Even pig farming is generally open paddock, although with some questionable use of sow crates that the government and industry are slowly addressing. Chicken/egg farming is mixed between cage/barn/free-range, with cage definitely on the back foot.
Your argument collapses at that point because you are arguing against a stance I have not taken.
@Chuck Sullivan – another point is that factory farming is not a spectator sport, which means that it doesn’t encourage the people into a blood lust like animal sport does.
The argument to counter that is, of course, that it becomes easy for people to ignore cruelty and mistreatment, because they are oblivious to it; this, too, is true.
In other words, this is not a simple question, it is a complex one with many turns and twists, and that is, I think, the point Rob was trying to make, not the simple point you argued against. It is very easy to be conflicted in the area of animal exploitation and animal rights, because there are so many nooks and crannies.
It’s really not true that animals raised for slaughter necessarily suffer. Factory-farmed animals necessarily do, but otherwise, it depends.
Yes.
and even more sickening and with just a whiff of inherent female blaming…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/82027809/mother-of-bull-that-killed-matador-victor-barrio-to-be-slaughtered