Upstream | August 09, 2011 | 53 comments

CNN: Should Bullfighting Be Banned? 250,000 Bulls Killed Annually

source: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/09/should-bullfighting-be-banned/?hpt=hp_bn2

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EthicalVegan
CNN...


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August 9th, 2011
08:00 AM ET




Should bullfighting be banned?

By Stephanie Garlow, GlobalPost

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First Catalonia outlawed bullfighting, which the Economist likened it to a German state banning wurst or a French region condemning berets.

Now Peru's minister of culture has said the sport is "terrible" and that it causes excessive suffering for the animals.

So is bullfighting on the way out? Is it a "tradition of tragedy," as PETA claims, that kills 250,000 bulls annually?



Activists who gathered in Lima last week to protest the mistreatment of bulls would seem to agree. "Bullfighting promotes violence, torture and cruelty to animals for no reason," William Soberon, of the Anti-Bullfighting Front of Peru, told La Republica. "We're not in the colonial era."

Peru's newly appointed minister of culture, Susana Baca, said she felt sorry for the animals and that she cried when she once attended a cockfight. "I've never been to a bullfight but from the little I've seen in the media, I know it's terrible and I had to close my eyes," she said on the program "Buenos Dias, Peru."

But protests against bullfighting are nothing new in Peru. And comments by Baca that she would analyze the practice during her tenure quickly sparked controversy.

Bullfighter Fernando Roca Rey told La Republica that bullfighting should be seen as a cultural event and that "the minister can give her opinion, but that cannot be applied to the whole country." Bullfighting celebrations have been held in Peru since 1766 and the Plaza de Toros de Acho bullring is the oldest in the Americas and second-oldest in the world, reports AFP.

And the Spanish government recently dealt a blow to efforts to outlaw the sport when it ruled that bullfighting is an "artistic discipline and cultural product." The country's Ministry of Culture will now be responsible for the "development and protection" of bullfighting, a move that supporters hope is a step toward protecting the tradition from further regional bans.



Bullfighting is also practiced in Portugal and the south of France and is widespread in Latin America. Mexico City's Plaza Mexico arena is the biggest in the world with seats for up to 55,000.

And while public opinion might be swinging away from bullfighting — a poll last year for El Pais found 60 percent of Spaniards did not enjoy bullfighting — the sport still has big-name supporters. Peruvian novelist and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa campaigned to convince UNESCO to classify bullfighting as part of Spain's national heritage.

And in novelist Ernest Hemingway, the sport found one of its most enduring voices of support. The art of the bullfighting, Hemingway wrote in "Death in the Afternoon," "is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter's honor."

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53 comments // CNN: Should Bullfighting Be Banned? 250,000 Bulls Killed Annually

  • gepma44
    • 0
      gepma44  

    • i am more concerned with the thousands of people who die from police brutality a year.....just blame mike vick and keep it movin

    • 10 months ago
  • keithponder
  • KSirys
    • +1
      KSirys  

    • This is some bullshit!! if these cowards think it's ok to kill bulls and want to continue this BS called "tradition" they should do it without weapons... let's see how tough they really are and how long they last.

      Cowards!!!

    • 10 months ago
  • DavidYates
  • KSirys
  • Marta_Esteban_Minano
    • 0
      Marta_Esteban_Minano  
    • DavidYates:

      Excuse me David... But what is your point? Because there is a horrible human catastrophe somewhere in the world it is ok to torture animals for entertainment?? What is this nonsense position that it has to be animals OR people??? Shall we not take care of trees or rivers, while there are people dying somewhere else?? Please, don't be absurd

    • 10 months ago
  • Marta_Esteban_Minano
  • DavidFloresII
    • -4
      DavidFloresII  

    • It's a harsh reality that the bull will die. Is it not better in an arena where it can face it's killer? I live by a couple of simple modos, one being,"Do unto others as you would do unto yourself." If I was a bull, I would want to face my killer, and have a chance at killing him. Not face the blissful ignorance of death at some slaughter house. I would want to fight!!!

      Now before you go with your better than thou vegan rant. Plants are living creatures, even if they don't have the standarded organs as mammals and such. But they can feel, why do you think that roots reach towards water sources, that plants move with the light of the sun. They can feel and they can die by your actions. Is it because they move so slowly, that you wouldn't notice it unless you spent the day studing it just to notice. That it is ok to kill it them? That they grow thorns, create toxins, or learn to live underground to avoid there enemys.

      Now of course there are the exceptions of fruits that work with there predators to spread there seeds. So technically the only safe vegan food to eat, is that of fruit. But only if you honor the original plants sacrifice by planting the seeds. Now that is a true Ethical Vegan way... It's a ethical way of life, "Honoring your kill" for its life means a life for others.

    • 10 months ago
  • SandyBerman
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • OlBlue
    • 0
      OlBlue  
    • DavidFloresII:

      What you are describing is a simple reaction to an external event, as dust blown by the wind. Plants have no central nervous system, therefore, they cannot feel pain. Nice try at justification of torture though.

    • 10 months ago
  • PigFarmington
  • Saladin
    • +4
      Saladin  

    • I understand the tradition, but lots of really stupid things were traditions. People getting torn apart by lions, for instance, in an arena.

      Now, more cows probably die daily to feed Spanish people than do in these nasty tournaments. But it's kind of insane to make an argument for what I would call a moral vacuum.

      That is to say, reasoning that goes like this, "well, we already do lots of bad stuff, so stopping this bad stuff really doesn't matter," is, if taken literally, a license to eradicate morality *completely*.

      Yes, it's sad to see culture die. But it is no longer ancient times. The bulls you're killing aren't even that impressive anymore. Give it up already, it's barbaric.

    • 10 months ago
  • OlBlue
    • +1
      OlBlue  

    • No!
      But as Bill Mahr would say.......THERE ARE NEW RULES!
      Both the bull and the human would be naked.
      Neither would be armed.
      Halfway into the "fight" the bullfighter would be stabbed in the neck with picas. Picas are the little spears they shove into the bull's neck to weaken it and lower the head for an easier sword thrust.
      The crowd would be pro-bull.
      Ole'

    • 10 months ago
  • moodyblue
  • keithponder
  • WagonMaster
    • +1
      WagonMaster  

    • The only thing that Spanish style bull fighting accomplishes besides sickening gore, is to allow the Torero an opportunity to show off his " Big Package " via tight costuming. I've seen several of these bouts and was disgusted.

      Portuguese style Bull Fighting is done from horseback to show off the skill of the rider and the training of the horse. The horse is padded and the bull is not harmed, only really pissed off. I watched about 75-100 afternoon bouts at the arena in Angra do Hermosa city on Terciera Island in the Azores. I really enjoyed the graceful horsemanship. SO.... it ain't all cruel.

      Spanish style Bull fighting is one mean-assed cruel-as-hell blood sport that NEEDS to be condemned AND banned !!

    • 10 months ago
  • SandyBerman
    • SandyBerman  
    • This comment was removed as a violation of community guidelines.
  • EthicalVegan
  • warman1138
  • mitekillem
  • EthicalVegan
  • attilatheblond
  • squarethecircle
  • Miguel_Teixeira
  • GENERALNATTY
    • +2
      GENERALNATTY  
    • Image

    • Hard for me to relate to animal rights issues, i never had any pets and other than the occasional trip to the zoo or a farm, really never had any interaction with animals.

      i've basically been conditioned from the day i had my first happy meal, that these animals only mattered as too how tasty they were and a cow was nothing but a walking bbq waiting to happen.

      I'd love to be a vegan tried it out for a few weeks, healthiest i ever felt in my life but thankgiving came around and i relapsed lol, trying to eat more veggies nowadays though.

      generalnatty = recovering carnivore :(

      On the subject though, if they weren't going to be fighting in the ring wouldn't they just become veal instead? Therefore just shortening their lives and changing their manner of death?

    • 10 months ago
  • squarethecircle
  • GENERALNATTY
    • +1
      GENERALNATTY  
    • squarethecircle:

      Tough subject this one, not only because of the general difficulty with animal rights issues, but the last ones that are gonna be saved are the ones we put in our belly 3 times a day and the fact that beef is a huge corporate giant.

      i guess "sick" would be relative to how you feel about animal rights, i think the cattle industry contributes more to damage to the environment that it does as a waste of resources, i think meat and gluttony go hand and hand, clearly we were herbivores since our creation we couldn't eat none of this meat without cooking the shit out of it first and meat we can eat without cooking isn't really all that appetizing.

      I think all animals were created in a way on this planet, that if they consumed their natural diet they would be at our healthiest if we consumed lots of plant life as opposed to meat, some doctors would go out of business lol.

      But on the other hand, with the ever growing population and shrinking amounts of land and droughts, perhaps it may not be realistic that we not consume other animals.

    • 10 months ago
  • SandyBerman
  • squarethecircle
  • squarethecircle
    • +1
      squarethecircle  
    • SandyBerman:

      nonsense...neither are. We don't need meat..and little that "we" do these days is humane. We should all take that a little more personally and realize that we are each a part of a whole but the change needs to start with every individual actually aware of personal accountability and affect on all.

    • 10 months ago
  • SandyBerman
  • EthicalVegan
  • DavidFloresII
  • squarethecircle
  • SandyBerman
  • SandyBerman
  • EthicalVegan
    • +1
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image
    • SandyBerman:

      It does NOT happen post-mortem. The torture is what eventually kills most of the farmed animals, and those who don't die from the torture are sometimes destroyed while still being conscious. There is no such thing as "painless" when it comes to killing.

      I've done my fair share of witnessing farmed animals first-hand, and so I speak from gruesome -- and intensely sad -- experience.

      Visit:

      www.animalacres.org
      www.farmsanctuary.com
      www.veganpeace.com

    • 10 months ago
  • squarethecircle
  • Gillian_Marktoo
    • +2
      Gillian_Marktoo  

    • If you drink milk daily, you are contributing to this. In order to keep cows producing milk - they need to be kept constantly PREGNANT. This produces a majority of male offspring that have nowhere to go for the most part. Male cows don't produce enough meat for the amount they eat. They end up as veal, or in a bullfight.

      IF you don't like that, say no to that daily glass of cows milk.

    • 10 months ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +2
      EthicalVegan  
    • Gillian_Marktoo:

      I not only say no to "that daily glass of cows [sic] milk," but I say no to any and all living beings, and that includes not only the so-called food humans think they need to get from other animals, but also any and all "by-products" made from those very same animals. Thus, I'm an ethical vegan.

    • 10 months ago
  • SandyBerman
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/spain/101026/pictures-bullfighting-catalonia

      Full Frame: Death of bullfighting

      A photographer captures a dying Catalonian custom.

      Charlie Mahoney
      October 27, 2010 06:54
      Updated October 27, 2010 06:54

      .

      CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VIEW PHOTOS:
      http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/spain/101026/pictures-bullfighting-catalonia

      .

      Full Frame features photo essays and conversations with photographers in the field.

      In the 1900s, Barcelona was one of the world's most celebrated bullfighting cities. With its three bullrings, it hosted more bullfights than any other Spanish city.

      But this June, the Parliament of Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeastern Spain, voted to abolish bullfighting in the region.

      An animal rights group, Prou forced the debate after gathering more than 180,000 signatures. The decision will force the closure of Barcelona's Plaza Monumental, Catalonia's only remaining active bullfighting ring.

      .

      About the photographer:

      Charlie Mahoney is an acclaimed freelance photojournalist, multimedia storyteller and educator who is dedicated to documenting stories of social significance. Over the last few years he has worked on issues ranging from the plight of African immigrants entering Europe to the troubling issues of climate change and political unrest in the Maldives. While his projects have taken him all over the world, he is currently focused on contemporary issues in the southern Europe. A sensitive eye to color and complex imagery are signatures of his work.

      Charlie brings a diverse background to the field of photography and journalism. He has a B.A. in International Relations and Biology from Bowdoin College. Prior to his career in photography, he worked 10 years in finance in San Francisco, Calif.

      Since receiving a master's in photojournalism from the University Autonoma of Barcelona, Charlie has received recognition in numerous international awards, including the International Photography Awards, the Environmental Photographer of the Year Awards, the Travel Photographer of the Year awards and the PX3 Prix de la Photographie.

      He is a founding member of Prime Photo Collective and is a contributing photographer to Corbis and Agence Cosmos in France. He lives with his wife in Barcelona where he attempts to perfect his Catalonian culinary creations. He is fluent in Spanish and English.

      .

      PHOTO: Bullfighter Juan Serrano makes a pass on a bull at Plaza Monumental in Barcelona, June 6, 2010.

    • 10 months ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • DavidFloresII
    • 0
      DavidFloresII  
    • EthicalVegan:

      Look at this... not just at the blade, but at the matadors face. It's a harsh reality that the bull will die. Is it not better in an arena where it can face it's killer? I live by a couple of simple modos, one being,"Do unto others as you would do unto yourself." If I was a bull, I would want to face my killer, and have a chance at killing him. Not face the blissful ignorance of death at some slaughter house. I would want to fight!!!

      Now before you go with your better than thou vegan rant. Plants are living creatures, even if they don't have the standarded organs as mammals and such. But they can feel, why do you think that roots reach towards water sources, that plants move with the light of the sun. They can feel and they can die by your actions. Is it because they move so slowly, that you wouldn't notice it unless you spent the day studing it just to notice. That it is ok to kill it them? That they grow thorns or leran to live underground to avoid there enemys.

      Now of course there are the exceptions of fruits that work with there predators to spread there seeds. So technically the only safe vegan food to eat, is that of fruit. But only if you honor the original plants sacrifice by planting the seeds. Now that is a true Ethical Vegan way... It's a ethical way of life, "Honoring your kill" for its life means a life for others.

    • 10 months ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  
    • DavidFloresII:

      You wrote, in part:

      "Now before you go with your better than thou vegan rant."

      I'm writing:

      I certainly don't go into "vegan rants," and resent your accusation.

      But far more importantly than that, you also made a second assumption, in your same half-sentence, that I have a "better than thou" attitude. As a matter of fact, quite the opposite DavidFloresII, quite the opposite. If there were such a thing as a scale of importance of living beings, I'd put humans way, way, WAY down at the bottom of that whole massive list.

      So, no, I don't rant.

      So, no, I don't have what you referred to as a "better than thou" approach.

      Please know me before you accuse or describe me. Thank you.

    • 10 months ago
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