Many condemn bullfighting as an activity that is neither humane nor entertaining. A slowly dwindling number of people argue that bullfighting is an elegant contest between man and beast. Whatever the reader may think of bullfighting, it is unlikely that he or she has thought about the underlying culture of cruelty that supports this blood sport.
Recently, this writer received an email from a Spanish citizen desperately seeking help to draw attention to what happens during festivals in small villages and towns throughout many regions of Spain. At these cultural events bulls and bull calves, some of them still of nursing age, are subjected to the cruelest of treatment and suffer slow, agonizing deaths as crowds of drunken and excited onlookers cheer, reminding the onlooker of the bloodthirsty crowds from the days of ancient Rome.
Here is what Olivia wrote . Olivia is not her real name, she asked Animal Advocacy not to reveal her name for fear or repercussions.
Dear Keith, thak you very much for answering my message in FB...your name was provided to me for somebody in the FB Animal Warriors Global.....we are a group of peopel sick and tired of the torturing and death of animals, by the so wrongly called "humans beens"...
I was born in Spain and am horrorized to see the mistreatment, the torture and death of animals....sometimes or mos of the times with the complcity of the government....and even the financing......
I have tried to look for help everywhere....I eve wrote to two parlamentaries, who wrote a letter to thee spanish gov...under pres. Zapatero....for not following the rules to the killing of animals for human consumption.....not to mention the use of animals in outrageos "festivals".....If you wish I can provide you a copy of those letters....and their emails....
What I a look for is an international journalist or movie maker.... somebody that can denounce this situation....(such as The Cove)....because it has become unbeareable....and even now that Spain is very close to be rescue by the EU..the Ministry of Education will spend this yea alone 600 millions in promote "the art of toros"...they even have the aspiration of askinng UNESCO to declare toros..."A Cultural event".......
Olivia
The cultural events to which Olivia refers to are the premeditated torture and slow death of partially grown bulls, some so young they are still of nursing age. The events are a far cry from the mythical noble matador seen in film and pictured on bullfighting posters. Olivia included a link of what transpires at these so called cultural festivals. According to the copy on the YouTube page of the video "Most local and regional authorities encourage these barbaric shows with political and economic support, the later at the expense of public subventions by taxpayers. Meanwhile the central government washes its blood tainted hands."
This writer then Googled the names of other festivals Olivia sent in her email and found this horrendous footage. This is no bull in the video, in fact it probably can still be classified as a calf. Until it arrived in this arena it lived a serene life with its mother.
While a full grown bull stands almost no chance against a Matador, at least the animal is old enough to know enough to defend itself. This Calf is as clumsy as the matador wannabe who missed the killing lunge with his sword, leaving the calf wounded and bleeding.
The oaf than pulled his sword from the animal’s body and the killing was left to a man with a pocket knife, who in attempting to kill the calf continued to torture it. Finally the animal was dropped, but still not put out of its misery.
This and other events like it that are held in Spain are not sport, they are gruesome in the most Roman of traditions where the fans cheer as the victims are slowly savaged with spear, sword and knife wounds until they finally succumb to the unfair fight.
Olivia hopes that articles such as this one will raise awareness and build support for organizations such as PACMA that are trying to make these bovine festivals of cruelty and torture a thing of the past.
She suggest those who are repulsed by this may wish to not visit Spain as a tourist, or voice their protest to the Spanish ambassador to the United States. Others may wish to support PACMA. Those journalists or cinematographers who wish to bring these cultural festivals to the public's attention may want to write articles or create documentaries that can support the efforts of PACMA.
