BULLFIGHTS

Each year, more than 40,000 bulls are barbarically
slaughtered in Spain’s bullrings. Most foreign visitors
who witness a bullfight never wish to see one again.
They are repulsed, disgusted and saddened by the
cruelty of the spectacle.
At best, the term “bullfighting” is a misnomer, as there
is usually little competition between a nimble sword-
wielding matador (Spanish for “killer”) and a confused,
maimed, psychologically tormented and physically
debilitated bull.
One of the biggest supporters of bullfighting is the
tourist industry. Travel agents and bullfight promoters
portray the fight as a festive and fair competition. What
they do not reveal is that the bull never has a chance to
defend himself, much less to survive.
Bulls are intentionally debilitated by various means,
such as having sandbags dropped on their backs.
Drugging is also very common. A study conducted by
scientists at Spain’s Salamanca University found that
20 per cent of the bulls used for fighting are drugged
before they step into the ring. In a sampling of 200
bulls, one in five had been given anti-inflammatory
drugs, which mask injuries that could sap animals’
strength.
Another common practice is to “shave” bulls’ horns by
sawing off a few inches. Bulls’ horns, like cats’
whiskers, help the animals navigate, so a sudden
change impairs their coordination. Shaving is illegal, so
the horns are sometimes inspected by a veterinarian
after a fight. In 1997, the Confederation of Bullfighting
Professionals – which includes Spain’s 230 matadors –
went on strike in opposition to these veterinary
inspections.
In a typical bullfight, the bull enters the arena and is
approached by picadors – men on blindfolded horses
who drive lances into the bull’s back and neck muscles.
This impairs the bull’s ability to lift his head. They twist
and gouge the lances to ensure a significant amount of
blood loss. Then banderilleros enter on foot and proceed
to distract the bull and dart around him while plunging
banderillas – bright sticks with harpoon points on their
ends – into his back. When the bull has become
weakened from blood loss, the banderilleros run the bull
in more circles until he is dizzy and stops chasing.
Finally, the matador appears and, after provoking a few
exhausted charges from the dying animal, tries to kill
the bull with his sword. If he misses, succeeding only
in further mutilating the animal, an executioner is called
in to stab the exhausted and submissive animal to
death. The dagger is supposed to cut the animal’s
spinal cord, but even this can be blundered, leaving the
bull conscious but paralysed as he is chained by his
horns and dragged out of the arena.
If the crowd is happy with the matador , the bull’s ears
and tail are cut off and presented as a trophy. A few
minutes later, another bull enters the arena and the
sadistic cycle starts again.
It is a very cowardly event. The matador has the choice
to be there – the bull does not. From the moment he
enters the ring from the dark alleyway where he is kept,
the bull doesn’t stand a chance. He may be weakened
by beatings with sandbags, have the muscles in his
neck cut in order to prevent him from lifting his head up
all the way, be debilitated with laxatives, have his horns
shaved or have petroleum jelly rubbed into his eyes in
order to alter his ability to judge distance.