Unyielding Debate: The Contentious Issue Surrounding Bullfighting
A gruesome, blood-soaked spectacle that once captivated the people of Catalonia came to a screeching halt in 2011. On that fateful day, Serafin Marin, a dashing, Catalan-born bullfighter, donned a suit of crimson silk and stepped into the ring for the final bullfight in the northeastern Spanish region.
With his montera hat tossed carelessly to the roaring crowd and his crimson muleta stalking the 570-pound bull named Dudalegre, Marin danced an intricate dance of life and death. After two more passes, the bull staggered, with barbed darts piercing its shoulders. The audience erupted in thunderous applause, but little did they know, this would be the last time they'd witness such a spectacle in Catalonia.
Bullfighting was banned in Catalonia in 2012, after a narrow majority in the Catalan Parliament voted to outlaw the practice in July 2010. Despite a brief overturning of the ruling by Spain's Constitutional Court in 2016, the tradition was never revived in the region. The barbaric practice has its roots in the 16th century, when Spanish conquerors began spreading it to South America, Mexico, and France. It's a dance of death that has survived for centuries, but its relevance in the modern world is questionable.
In the first act, banderilleros in colorful capes and banderillas adorned with barbed darts weaken the bull. Picadors, assistants riding horses with sharp pikes, further debilitate the animal before the matador, the main performer, enters to claim the bull's life with a swift jab of a sword. To ensure a swift death, the matador must pierce the aorta of the bull. But often, the bullfighter misses the mark and stabs the bull's lungs, causing a gruesome scene of blood spewing from the animal's nostrils and mouth.
Critics argue that bullfighting is little more than a gruesome form of entertainment that causes immense suffering to the sentient beings involved. A 2021 study published in MDPI found that bulls, deprived of their natural instincts, experience pain and fear during the fight. These animals are aggressively bred, beaten before being brought to the arena, and subjected to inhumane conditions that leave them injured and exhausted.
What's more, the cultural significance of bullfighting is largely overestimated. In 2013, the Spanish Congress declared bullfighting to be "cultural heritage," but this designation is a fragile justification for a tradition that has lost its relevance in modern society. Bullfighting is no longer the prestigious, noble display it once was, and its continued existence is a testament to our society's struggle to acknowledge and confront the cruelty inherent in many of our cultural traditions.
While the practice is still legal in Portugal, France, Mexico, and several other countries, the tide has started to turn against bullfighting. Spain, once a staunch supporter of the tradition, has seen a sharp decline in attendance, with less than 2% of the population attending bullfights in the 2021-2022 season. As our understanding of animal rights and welfare continues to evolve, it's clear that the dance of death in the ring will soon become a mere memory, and it's up to us to make that future a reality.
So, as Hemingway once wrote, bullfighting is "the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter's honor." But unlike Hemingway, we no longer stand on the sidelines and cheer for the violent display of death and cruelty. Instead, we must strive to create a world where these animals can live and die in peace, free from the torments of the bullring.
- The dance of death in the ring, once considered a prestigious and noble display, is losing its relevance in modern society and is no longer the entertainment it used to be.
- The 2021 study published in MDPI found that bulls, subjected to bullfighting, experience pain and fear, as they are aggressively bred, beaten, and kept in inhumane conditions prior to the spectacle.
- Despite the legal status of bullfighting in several countries, the tide has started to turn against this traditional practice, and it is up to us to make a future where these animals can live and die in peace a reality.
