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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 20948
[Animals]
Date Posted:
7/28/2009
3:27:28 pm EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,022
RSS: 14,349
Comments: 15
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Melee At Bullfight Renews Animal Cruelty Debate
Author: Tracie Cone, AP Source: Google
Title: MELEE AT BULLFIGHT RENEWS ANIMAL CRUELTY DEBATE
It was supposed to be a "bloodless bullfight," a dangerous dance between a pirouetting matador and an enraged bull that would not end in death.
But this time-honored Portuguese tradition capping a religious festival was anything but bloodless.
As the matador raised a short festooned spear to stick to the bull's neck, an animal welfare investigator charged into the ring, suspecting that the banderilla's Velcro tip concealed an illegal steel barb that would pierce the animal's hide.
Spectators chased down the intruder, and a bloody melee ensued, sending a San Joaquin County Sheriff's deputy to the hospital and two men to jail.
The episode in May reignited a battle that has endured for several decades between the bullfight aficionados and animal welfare advocates who contend the ritual is animal cruelty masquerading as religious theater.
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Community Thoughts: There are 15 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| But... | Jul 31st. at 2:37:36 am EDT
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Rosemary (Oneonta, New York) - Email Me
There doesn't need to be any comparisons drawn. The horrors of other instances shouldn't need to be mentioned for there to be an understanding of just how much these animals suffer. It is an act which causes unnecessary pain and trauma and the animals don't deserve it, anyone should be able to understand that straight off the bat.
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| .... | Jul 30th. at 12:26:41 pm EDT
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Sparrow (Northern (not city) , Wisconsin) - Email Me
-"We need to defend our traditions," said Jose Avila, publisher of the Portuguese Tribune, one of the largest Portuguese-language weekly newspapers in the nation. "I understand that some people do not like bullfighting, the way I do not like boxing, but we accept the difference, right?"-
Except both people in the boxing ring worked to get there, had the option to drop out at any level if they had wanted to. The bull in a bullfight doesn't have a choice in the matter.
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| Like A Rodeo? | Jul 29th. at 9:40:01 pm EDT
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Corax (Glendale, Arizona) - Email Me
Last time I checked, none of the animals in a rodeo are deliberately wounded with what is essentially a spear. Granted rodeo animals have no choice in the matter, but at least no blood-letting is involved.
Re: the bullfights- Velcro? Please! If the spears were tipped with velcro, why the need to have someone spirit them away before the animal control people could inspect them?
I oppose rodeos (not even to mention bullfighting) because the animals would certainly rather be eating grass in some pasture, instead of being screamed at by thousands of cretins and (in the case of the bulls, according to a fan I met) having their testicles shocked by a cattle prod to make them really angry. In light of this tidbit, I think it serves the jerkoff bull rider right when the bull bucks him off and stomps on his body several times. I hope he gets HIS testicles stomped on, so he can't transmit his inbred, moronic genes to another generation!
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| Idiots. | Jul 29th. at 8:15:26 pm EDT
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Aurora Callo (Olympia, Washington) - Email Me
"An Old World custom falling out of favor in a modern society." Kind of like witch burning?
I can't stand the comparisons made in defense of bullfighting. It is NOT like boxing because the bull has no choice. It is like a rodeo, and rodeos should be illegal, too. I thought this was covered during Vick's dogfighting scandal: no consent means no excuse. Works for teenagers--why not bulls?
And I don't care if they're eaten afterwards; it's an inhumane way to end someone's life. Even death row inmates get to go out painlessly. If their god demands they torture someone, toss them a rapist.
People need to stop relying on their religion and culture to grant them the privilege of beastly behavior. Any group that promotes violence should be outlawed. "Discrimination" be damned.
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| Animal Welfare Advocate? | Jul 29th. at 2:38:40 pm EDT
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Ahr-Ohn (Bridgeport, Connecticut) - Email Me
Next time an Animal Welfare Advocate wants to intervene, get him to wear a cape, and wave his arms a lot.
The Cult of Mythras was ordained at a dinner, where the bull was eaten.
Bull Fights today, are a slaughterhouse, with a bit of Artistry. It's Psychology as a martial art, and a popular show. We seem to like the kind of Slaughterhouse, where we don't know where or what our meat came from. Bull Fights are a bit less annonymous, as different as Barter from Dollar Value. Maybe the Portuguese like a bit of respect for their food?
Puertu-Gal, btw, is named for a tradition of sacrificing Chickens, leaving me to wonder what Animal Welfare Advocates might taste like.
Arawn Graalrd
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| Cruelty Demands A Luxury We Don't Have... | Jul 29th. at 1:22:22 pm EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
What bothers me most about the factory approach to slaughtering animals is the very indifferent way these creatures are often treated before they meet their ends.But in order to cater to a huge population, this is what animal farming has become. If far more people were made aware of how that burger reached their bun, they might be somewhat put off by it too- or at least be a little more respectful of what animals had to go through to provide that meal, although in some cases, that would be a lost cause.
Still, I confess that I am a meat eater and I like the steak or chicken on my plate and the burger on my bun as much as the next person who does. But I am not unaware from where it comes and what was involved to get it, and I have watched my parents dispatch chickens, fish and ducks to cook them.
While I dislike the killing of those animals, i consider a waste of their meat a greater crime. We farm these animals primarily to eat them. And the farming of these creatures was primarily to cut down on hunting, to provide a ready source of protein without having to go through the chase and catch part. When we can come up with synthetic sources that taste as good are as filling and are as nutritious, beyond the pea and soybean circuit, then these animals will soon become extinct as they will no longer be needed and only a few may be kept-for reasons of nostalgia.
I realize we are cruel enough as it is in our farming methods, but I can still feel outrage at the useless cruelty that is dished out to dogs, cats,cattle and other creatures in the name of entertainment or neglect or just plain brutality. I feel more outrage at the puppy mills, and the poorly run farms and animal "shelters", the starvation and overbreeding of dogs and cats or other animals at the hands of uncaring, unloving humans, the dog, cock and other bird fights staged for profit and pleasure.
While many are becoming more aware of our treatment of animal kind, we still have a long way to go to reconcile our predatory natures and our cruelty and indifference to the lives of others. At least, the Ancient Romans were more honest. They really didn't care because they believed their resources were unlimited, and that it didn't matter how many were killed. There would always be more.
We really don't have that luxury, and Rome fell, when they found out they didn't have it either.
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| It's County Fair And Rodeo | Jul 29th. at 9:28:51 am EDT
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Grumpy Raven (Eagle, Colorado) - Email Me
time in my town - and I'll go to the rodeo. Over the years, the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) has had to clean up their act some as far as animal treatment goes - the steers in the team roping and steer wrestling now wear leather protectors around the base of their horns, and the calf-roping horses won't drag the calves as much after they've been roped. I guess no one has ever felt bad for the bucking bulls. They have much longer and more interesting lives than their non-bucking counterparts, though they might not like being on the road so much. Is it fun for a calf to get roped? I'm sure it's not. But at least the calves in the rodeo aren't confined to a tiny (and I mean tiny) pen for four or six months and then slaughtered, like veal calves are.
I don't find the Portuguese bullfights all that offensive. The fact that the bulls are slaughtered afterwards is irrelevant - slaughter is the fate of bovines in the United States, and I'll bet you that those bulls have better lives than the steers and pigs in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. I guess if you don't buy any meat from the grocery store you have a right to be outraged - if not, not.
I'm a little confused about what religion the bullfights are officially supposed to be part of, though I believe they really are a part of an old European religious tradition.
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| Male Ego? | Jul 29th. at 4:49:17 am EDT
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TillyBoo (Stockport, England) - Email Me
I think it's a male ego thing, (and female in some cases) . They want the rush of fighting and killing, so they pick on a bull, in this case. Yes the bull sometimes "win", that does not make it right. Maybe we should bring back the gladiators, but only have human against human fights to the death. It should get rid off a few idiots,
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| Interview The Priest | Jul 29th. at 1:29:38 am EDT
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Sphinxring (Olympia, Washington) - Email Me
I like to hear how the priest thinks this is a religious exercise. A reporter might find some "interesting" thinking.
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| So, Which Modern "Sport" Is More Cruel? | Jul 29th. at 1:02:25 am EDT
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nasionnaich (Stanchfield, Minnesota) - Email Me
So it's "cruelty to animals" when a bullfight is staged -- but it's just good entertainment when a rodeo is held? Lessee, what's the difference.....
In the bullfight, the steer is antagonized - and the matador puts his own life in danger. In the rodeo, the steer, bronc, and calf are antagonized - and (except in the case of the calf) the rodeo rider puts his own life in danger. In the bullfight, the steer is enraged - and the matador puts his own life in danger. In the rodeo, the steer and the bronc are enraged - and the rodeo rider puts his own life in danger.
I really don't see any difference at all. yet, somehow, the ***American*** cowboy ritual known as "Rodeo" is not as cruel and inhumane as even the bloodiest bullfight? I say bull-puckey! At least the bulls are put out of their misery at the end - the rodeo steers and broncs have to go through the ordeal over and over and over and over and......
Actually, there is another, and far more important, difference: The bullfight, as it is done today (whether "bloodless" or not) , is derived from and still connected to an actual religious ritual. The American Rodeo is - and always has been - a way for the Cowboy to show off his skills.
The American Rodeo has NEVER been about Religion. Neither has the "gentleman's" sport of Boxing.
--nasionnaich
p.s.; if y'all want to harp on about animal cruelty, how about people who buy parrots, macaws, ferrets, rabbits, or any species of animal - just to keep them caged up as "pets"? how many of y'all are guilty of doing that yourself? geez...talk about hypocrisy.
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| ... | Jul 28th. at 9:31:30 pm EDT
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Draken (Bronx, New York) - Email Me - Web
Let the bullfights continue. The bulls will get rid of some of the Earth's stupid people.
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| I Root For The Bull.... | Jul 28th. at 8:15:12 pm EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
In some bullfighting, the bull is chosen and raised for its agressive traits then in the arena, is goaded and injured with bandarillos to drive him angrier than he already is. In those cases, I can't blame the bull for trying to give as good as he gets.
In the case of the bullfight, one could say that it is a holdover from the time of the Roman arenas, where wild animals were often pitted against humans, mostly as a form of execution- or as a hunting competition- but it evolved into a test of courage for the bull fighter. The Games themselves were a religious rite to honor the ancestors and those warriors pitted against each other were a form of human sacrifice, but as time went on, they devolved into an entertainment for the masses put on by the rich to curry votes for political gain.
Traces of the first competition as a religious event with bulls can be found in the murals at Knossos, in which contestants are shown vaulting over the animals. And in France, bullfighting is supposed to be relatively bloodless with people trying to get as close as possible without getting gored. It is still a spectacle that needs to be re-evaluated for the cruelty that it still holds for the animal as it is badly tormented before it is killed.
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| Total Bull | Jul 28th. at 8:01:29 pm EDT
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TillyBoo (Stockport, England) - Email Me
What is religious about taunting and abusing an animal? It's wrong, if the human race can't respect other species, then we deserve all we get.
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| Bullfighting Vs. Boxing | Jul 28th. at 7:34:43 pm EDT
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Maeven (Los Angeles, California) - Email Me
No, they are not the same, as an interviewee in the story says. Boxers get to CHOOSE their fight, the bulls do not. Also, the boxers are not put to certain death, while the bulls are slaughtered afterwards because they have become "ring savvy".
I'm all for preserving cultures and can even support voodoo sacrifices, but this sickens me. In other cultures that perform sacrifice, the animals are treated with respect the entire way through. The death is quick and as painless as possible, and also provides food for people who are very poor and hungry. These bulls are deliberately taunted to exhaustion, stabbed repeatedly while forced to fight, and then murdered when it's over because the abuse and trauma makes them "violent and unpredictable". You would be, too, if put through such an event!
Cultures needs to evolve as humans evolve. It doesn't mean cultural genocide, it means it's time for them to bring an old tradition up to speed and current with today's era. I believe the statements about preserving tradition and that it's for religious purposes are merely a cover for what is really an opportunity to indulge in machismo.
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| Ignorance Abounds. | Jul 28th. at 4:49:38 pm EDT
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Ursyl (Murrysville, Pennsylvania) - Email Me
Not that I particularly favor bullfights, mind you, but that comment to the effect that it's only religious if done in the context of Mass?
Honey fool, bullfights come from a far older religious tradition than any Mass. That doesn't make them non-religious.
And in the context of the bulls becoming beef afterwards, I hope those cruelty agents are all vegetarian. Because otherwise, they haven't a moral leg to stand on if they're so concerned about these bulls but can turn around and eat a steak dinner.
At least in the ring, the bull has the ability to fight back. Once at the slaughterhouse, there's none of that, is there?
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