Editor's Blog May 09th 2012
Bullfighting Art or Barbarism?
Most Spaniards will tell you that bull fighting is part of their heritage, as is the lesser known darting of bulls, throwing goats off church towers and the leaving of horses and donkeys tethered to the ground with no food or shade.
Some of the Spanish zoos I have visited have also left me thinking, why the hell did I go there, with poorly managed grounds and enclosures that are an affront to the animals basic needs.
This issue does not stop at the Spaniards though; the world is full of countries that have dubious animal husbandry records. Its all got to do with the amount of value we place on a creature. An African would kill an animal with no qualms whatsoever, because his family require protein to survive. Some Chinese and some of the other Asians will breed dogs just as a food item. (Europeans will kill an elephant for sport; just ask the king of Spain if he thought it was a good idea.)
The whole of the western world breeds animals for food in conditions that would be surely be classed as barbaric, but the majority of us will turn a blind about it because we just love our bacon toasty. The West also loves its animal testing, so your eyes don’t fall out after using some innocuous mascara, no, we would rather apply it to Beagles or rabbits.
I totally get the man versus beast thing, since the dawn of humankind we have hunted anything that has crawled, walked, swam or flew. It was instinctual and a necessity and after lots of practice, groups of hunters could bring down anything from a saber-toothed tiger to a wooly mammoth.
We now rarely have to hunt for our food, and although going to ones local supermarket may leave you feeling like you have fought and foraged for your meal, it does not give you that thrill of the chase and of the kill.
Blood sports are and have been a major source of entertainment for the masses; the Roman Coliseums would rarely have an empty seat in the house, especially if they had a few Christians to throw to the lions on the top of the bill. Crude as it is, people’s blood lust had to be sated.
Our affinity with animals has now reached a level where we keep pets and bestow on them more love than we do for most humans. So why do a few bulls being killed for art and heritage bother us, more humans have been killed for less worthy causes?
No, I think the reason I am against bull fighting is because it is not a fair fight. I would totally condone bull fighting as heritage if it was one man against the bull, with no assistance from the banderilla guys or el picador or even those stunt bullfighters that come out when their comrade is in trouble.
What I want to see is an even fight. A fight where the outcome is unknown where the bull actually gets its horns sharpened instead of blunted or shaved so that it is unbalanced. I want to see an equal amount of spandex wearing strutting Pacos get their comeuppance. I want to see their wives grieving when the bull gets a direct hit on his opponents testicles and then comes back to trample him into the earth, only then will I actually pay for the pleasure of watching.
Ed.
