Bullfights are shows in which bulls are fought in closed arenas following certain rules and points to finally kill the animal. In its modern form, bullfighting was born in Spain in the 18th century, however, the origins of bullfighting can be traced back to the Greco-Latin cultural roots, during the Minoan civilization.
If we take into account the torture process, the damage that is inflicted during the bullfight and the final death of the bull, to many of us this already seems like enough reason for these to be prohibited. However, it is a controversial topic with some very staunch defenders and beyond what may seem logical to us, it is always necessary to have arguments to be able to maintain a discussion. That is why in the following EcologiaVerde article we want to talk to you about arguments against bullfightingexplaining the reasons why they should be banned.
Arguments against bullfighting
They are a tradition
No one doubts that bullfighting is a tradition with many years of history, but that is not a sufficient argument to continue doing it. Clitoral ablation, beatings for adultery or gladiator fights They are also or have been at some point tradition in some areas of the world, but that does not stop us from denouncing how cruel these practices are.
Traditions serve to connect us with our past, a way of projecting our culture into the future and reaffirming ourselves. But evolution serves a purpose and, among other things, it serves to be able to look at the past criticallymaintain what is valid and eliminate aspects such as animal abuse.
Bullfighting is an art
Art is creation, construction, something that elevates the spirit and gives life, it never takes it away. There are many renowned authors and artists who have been fascinated by bullfighting, but that It is not a sufficient reason to consider it art.. Some of those who defend it say that bullfighting falls in love because it changes the animality of the bull, it talks about the transcendence of death and projects in the fight for the life of the bull the struggle of man to escape from his animality and to survive, with a beauty that makes him transcend. Others talk about it being the fight for life between a bull and a man, whatever it may be, no matter how much someone may like it, the discussion ends quickly if we take into account that if we remove all these beautiful words what we are left with is an animal tortured and killed. Would we accept torture and death in any other area of culture?
The bull does not die with dignity
Dignity, as well as bravery, bravery or honor, are moral and behavioral categories. created by human beings and that they can only make sense in it. Categorizing a bull or any other animal with these adjectives is absurd, since it does not act with dignity nor does it stop doing so, it simply defends itself. Furthermore, death is still death, no matter how much dignity you want to give it, by bullfighting you are not doing the bull any favors.
There is even more, no matter how much we accept that the bull dies in a dignified manner, despite having done so before the cheers of thousands of people, it will end up in a cutting room where it will be destined for human consumption, something that is quite far from what we commonly understand as a dignified death.
Bulls are not culture
It doesn’t take much to refute this argument, simply listen to and read what UNESCO, the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization, says about it. Well, almost 40 years ago, in 1980, this organization spoke out about bullfighting saying that bullfighting is the banal art of torturing and killing animals in front of public. Something that traumatizes children and adults, that worsens the condition of the neuropaths who watch the show and denatures our relationship with the animal.
But UNESCO doesn’t need to say it; Cruelty, abuse and pain cannot be considered culture. Culture is the customs and ways of life that contribute to our development in some way or another, and animal abuse does not meet any of the points that culture should meet.
They are religion since some bullfights are held in honor of saints
The The Catholic Church has repeatedly condemned the celebration of festivities in which there is torture and death of animals. Already in 1567, a papal bull was promulgated by Pius V in which this type of spectacle was considered bloody and clumsy, threatening to excommunicate to those clerics, kings or emperors who encouraged them. In 1920 the Vatican condemned them again, referring to the words of Pius V from almost 400 years earlier. John Paul II also spoke about it, who remembers that in the Bible no distinction is made between men and animals. Therefore, anyone who uses religious arguments to defend bullfighting should know that even religion condemns these acts.
The end of the bullfights would mean its disappearance
The bull is a herbivorous animal whose days pass peacefully while it searches for food in the pastures. In a natural state, the bull does not demonstrate any type of “bravery” except when there is a territorial fight, if it is in danger or if there is a fight regarding reproduction. The variety of brave bulls is made based on human choices of the most aggressive individuals, just as other livestock have been chosen to give more milk or more meat.
The point is that If the bullfights disappear, the bulls will not disappearthe bravery in this variety will simply disappear, a characteristic that has no use in your life. A species is considered extinct when there is not a single individual alive in the entire world and, today, there are about 2 and a half million brave bulls on the entire planet. All this without taking into account that brave bulls cannot become extinct, since only the species and not the varieties can become extinct.
The bull does suffer
Bulls are cephalized mammals with a central nervous system and a complex nervous and neuronal network, with pain receptors, so obviously They feel pain the same way humans feel it.. In fact, you only have to have observed them for a few minutes to realize that the moment a fly lands on their back they move their tail to scare it away. If they are able to perceive the fly, what will they feel when they stab it with the banderillas, the pujas and finally the sword? But, furthermore, in bullfights the bulls are not the only ones who suffer pain and can die. The horses that the picadors rideAlthough they now wear protection, they suffer trauma and pain during the bullfight.
The bull is not born for this
Just because fighting bulls have been bred to die in the ring does not mean that they were born for that. That is the same as saying that dogs were born to participate in fights because some breeders assign them to those activities. That man has created this subspecies from the choice of the bravest individuals over generations They do not give us the right to torture them or kill them at our whim, nor is it the only fate that can await that animal. The genetic condition of the bull is not an inevitable seal on its destiny.
We have already noted it throughout the article, but if we think about it, any of these arguments can be counterargued with something very simple: they are cruel. In bullfights an animal is tortured and killedand for that simple fact they should be banned. In fact, it is so absurd that if the same thing that is done in a lathe plaza were practiced on a farm or in a slaughterhouse, those responsible would be tried and criminally convicted.
Reasons to ban bulls
Below we give you a series of reasons why bulls should be bannedHowever, you can surely find many more:
- Because they are a cruel form of animal abuse.
- Because anywhere else other than the square it would be considered a crime without a doubt.
- Because it is totally cruel to raise animals with the sole purpose of torturing and killing them.
- Because it represents a form of animal exploitation.
- Because the pastures destroy biodiversity and desert the forests.
- Because they do not live as well as they want us to believe, in fact, they are killed when they have barely completed a quarter of their lives.
- Because before going out to the bullring, the bulls are drugged, frightened and tortured.
- Because bulls are highly sensitive, sociable and intelligent.
- Because it is not an equal fight as they want to make it seem, the end of the bullfight in the vast majority of cases is the death of the bull.
- Because 80% of the pardoned bulls die within a few days from injuries from the bullfight.
- Because not only the bull is tortured, but also the picadors’ horses. Sometimes their vocal cords are even cut so that they do not neigh.
- Because it is a practice more typical of other centuries than the 21st.
- Because it is prohibited to drive without a seat belt or enter a construction site without a protective helmet, how can someone be allowed to stand in front of a bull?
- Because it is only legal in 8 countries in the world.
- Because in the current situation, it is completely undignified that public money is allocated for this type of spectacle.
Anti-bullfighting phrases
- “The art of bullfighting consists of turning a beautiful animal into a bleeding meatball in twenty minutes before a jubilant audience” Manuel Vincent
- “Bullfights are the most repugnant, topical and outdated of our customs.” Jesus Torbado
- “The public comes to the square only to contemplate the meticulous death of an animal.” Manuel Vincent
- “Bullfighting is the last obstacle of an uncivilized humanity.” Isidro Gomá and Tomás
- “What will these people find in that face (that of a bull) that, far from being moved by its vision, grows more barbaric?” Eugenio Noel
- “I hope that one day we can shout: the bullfighter is dead: long live the bulls!” Eduardo del Rio
- “Bullfighting is a vice of our blood that has been poisoned since ancient times.” Jacinto Benavente
- “Among cruelties, the most repulsive is that whose purpose is fun.” Dolores Marsans Comas
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