Bullfighting is a physical contest that generally involves humans attempting to publicly subdue, immobilise, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. Although people commonly think of Spanish-style bullfighting as representative of bullfighting, there are many different forms and varieties in various locations around the world. Some forms involve dancing around or over a cow or bull, or attempting to grasp an object from the animal. Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of many countries including Spain, Portugal, parts of southern France, India and Tanzania, and some Latin American countries (Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru).
Spanish-style bullfighting is called corrida de toros (literally “running of bulls”) or la fiesta (“the festival”). In the traditional corrida, three matadores, each atacks two bulls, each of which is between four and six years old and weighs no less than 460 kg (1,014 lb). Each matador has six assistants—two picadores mounted on horseback, three banderilleros – who along with the matadors are collectively known as toreros (“bullfighters”) – and a mozo de espadas (“sword page”).
Most Portuguese bullfights are held in two phases: the spectacle of the cavaleiro, and the pega. In the cavaleiro, a horseman on a Portuguese Lusitano horse (specially trained for the fights) fights the bull from horseback. The purpose of this fight is to stab three or four bandeiras (small javelins) into the back of the bull. In “pega” they subdued the animal.
Jallikattu is a traditional spectacle played in Tamil Nadu, India as a part of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day. Bos indicus bulls are bred specifically for the sporting event and a specific breed of cattle bred for this purpose is known as “Jellicut”. During jallikattu, a bull is released into a group of people, and participants attempt to grab the bull’s hump and hold onto it for a determined distance, length of time, or with the goal of taking a pack of money tied to the bull’s horns. Practices before the bull is released include prodding the bull with sharp sticks or scythes, extreme bending of the tail which can fracture the vertebrae, and biting of the bull’s tail. There are also reports of the bulls being forced to drink alcohol to disorient them, or chilli peppers being rubbed in their eyes to aggravate the bull. During attempts to subdue the bull, they are stabbed by various implements such as knives or sticks, punched, jumped on and dragged to the ground.
Women in bullfighting
Conchita Cintron was a Peruvian female bullfighter, perhaps the most famous in the history of bullfighting. Patricia McCormick began bullfighting as a professional Matadora in January 1952, and was the first American to do so. Bette Ford was the first American woman to fight on foot in the Plaza México, the world’s largest bullfight arena. In 1974, Angela Hernandez Gomez, of Spain, won a case in the Spanish Supreme Court allowing women to be bullfighters in Spain; a prohibition against women doing so was put in place in Spain in 1908. Cristina Sánchez de Pablos, of Spain, was one of the first female bullfighters to gain prominence; she debuted as a bullfighter in Madrid on 13 February 1993.
Is bullfighting cruel?
Each year, more than 40,000 bulls are barbarically slaughtered in bullrings around the world. From the moment they enter the ring, they don’t stand a chance. They may be weakened by beatings with sandbags, debilitated with laxatives, drugged, have their horns shaved to impair their navigation, or have petroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes to impair their ability to judge distance.
In a typical Spanish bullfight, the bull enters the arena and is approached by picadors—men on blindfolded horses who drive lances into the bull’s back and neck muscles. This impairs the bull’s ability to lift his head and defend himself. They twist and gouge the lances to ensure significant blood loss.
Then banderilleros enter on foot, distract the bull, and dart around him while plunging banderillas—brightly colored sticks with harpoon points on their ends—into his back. When the bull has become weakened from blood loss, the banderilleros run the bull in circles until he becomes dizzy and stops chasing.
Finally, the matador appears and, after provoking a few exhausted charges from the dying animal, tries to kill the bull with his sword. If he misses, succeeding only in further mutilating the animal, an executioner is called in to stab the exhausted and submissive bull to death. The dagger is supposed to cut the animal’s spinal cord, but even this can be blundered, leaving the bull conscious but paralyzed as he is chained by his horns and dragged out of the arena.
If the crowd is happy with the matador, the bull’s ears and tail are cut off and presented as trophies. A few minutes later, another bull enters the arena and the sadistic cycle starts again.
The tourist industry is one of the biggest supporters of bullfighting. Travel agents and bullfight promoters portray the fight as a festive and fair competition. They don’t tell tourists that the bull never has a chance to defend himself, much less to survive. Most foreign visitors who witness a bullfight are repulsed, disgusted, and saddened by the cruelty of the spectacle and never want to see one again.
Tourism also keeps the cruel “Running of the Bulls” in Pamplona, Spain, in business. The bulls are kept in crowded, dark enclosures, and when they are prodded onto the streets with electric shocks, they are momentarily blinded by the sunlight. Runners hit the animals with rolled-up newspapers and twist their tails. The panicked animals often lose their footing on corners and crash into walls, breaking bones and injuring themselves. Most tourists don’t know that all the bulls will later be killed in the bullring
Opposition to Bullfighting
Opposition to bullfighting is mounting. In April 2004, the Barcelona City Council declared Barcelona an anti-bullfighting city in an effort to eventually ban this primitive blood sport, and in November 2008, the Initiative for Catalonia Greens, one of the three main political parties in Catalonia, resolved to oppose bullfighting and other forms of cruelty to animals. In total, 52 Catalán municipalities have declared themselves anti-bullfighting, and a motion has been submitted to the Catalonian Parliament that could expand existing cruelty-to-animals laws to include bullfighting. According to a 2013 Ipsos MORI survey, more than 70% of Spaniards have no interest in attending or supporting bullfights and over three quarters oppose use of public funds to support the bullfighting industry.
Portuguese ‘Bloodless’ Bullfights
Despite the name, Portuguese “bloodless” bullfights are anything but bloodless. The bull is stabbed with banderillas by a matador on horseback, causing deep wounds and significant blood loss. The bull is then tormented by eight forcados, seven of whom grab the animal’s head while the eighth pulls on his tail, eventually stopping the exhausted animal. The bull is then dragged out of the arena and left bleeding to await his slaughter, hours or even days later.
Horses in Bullfights
Bulls aren’t the only victims in bullfights. Horses are used to carry people with spears and other weapons in order to stab the bull and weaken him. Horses used in bullfights are blindfolded and sometimes have wads of wet newspaper stuffed in their ears so that they won’t be spooked by the charging bull or the noise of the crowd. These animals are often gored as riders force them to move close to the terrified bulls, who try to protect themselves. Each year, approximately 200 horses are killed in bullrings around the world.
What You Can Do
If you are planning to visit a country that permits bullfighting, please tell your travel agent that you are opposed to cruelty to animals in any form and that you do not want tickets to bullfights included in any tour packages. Before vacationing abroad, you can write to the country’s ambassador and ask whether rituals involving animal slaughter are among the country’s tourist attractions. Make it clear that you want no part in such activities, and never be afraid to talk about the cruelty of bullfighting.
Please write to the Spanish, Mexican, and French embassies and explain that as long as this cruel blood sport continues, you will never visit these countries.