Bull Fighting: Is it barbaric and savage or a good cultural thing?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I do not want this to break down into heated arguments and personal attacks. I just want to get the best possible and most rational answers. I bring it up because I have been reading articles back and forth on both and all sides: Some claim horrible abuses are done to the bulls before, during, and after the process of the matador based bull fight. Others claim the bulls are treated with great respect, care, and they are better off than industrial and even free-range farmed cattle. There are Spanish restaurants that prepare the meat from the bull and it is said to be sold at less cost than farm-raised beef.

There are very graphic websites against bull fighting and pro bull fighting websites, and voices across the board on it. What are your thoughts?

Here is an article about the meat being prepared in restaurants:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... t-in-world

[TkoK83Spy]

I always cheer for the bull....always. Seeing a bullfighter with his prods or swords or whatever they use, I honestly don't even know what they use because the "sport" disgusts me. Watching a matador get trampled or gored by a bull makes me happy.

[Bloke]

I always cheer for the bull....always.

You and me both Rick! :cool:

[JD Spydo]

For some strange reason I've personally never been impressed with bull fighting. Even as a kid it seemed as rigged as wrestling matches to me. And I'm not a big proponent of animal rights even though I am against animal cruelty. But I've never ever been entertained by it. Personally I wouldn't pay five cents to see a bull fight>> I probably wouldn't even go for free.

[Naperville]

It's just like hunting, and I have no problem with hunting by bow/crossbow, firearm, knife, sword, spear, blowgun....whatever. The more difficult the task undertaken, and the more rudimentary the weapon used, the better the event.

I like it when the bulls gore and maim the bullfighter, and I like it when they kill the bull. It's all good. Competition improves the breed of both human and bull.

[James Y]

I'm not going to tell another culture in another country what I think it should or shouldn't do, because that's annoying, But I've always rooted for the bull, in bull fighting as well as in the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

Jim

[Extra330SC]

The only sport that should take place in those arenas ....Red Bull X Fighters! !! The bull fights are cowardly IMO.

https://youtu.be/AX_p4PY7tmA

[Larry_Mott]

It should be banned, like 100 years ago.

[The Deacon]

I have a theory that every group needs another group to look down their noses at.

Many here in the USA see bull fighting as barbaric, but live in a culture that allows boxing, a "sport" where two humans to attempt to beat one another unconscious. We consider it "civilized" because the two combatants are the same sex, roughly the same weight, and are wearing padded gloves (which, arguably, allow them to do more damage to their opponent's brain without injuring their hands). Heck we even consider "mixed martial arts", an even more violent form of physical assault, to be a sport.

[bearrowland]

Count me in for the bull too! :)

I always cheer for the bull....always.

You and me both Rick! :cool:

[JD Spydo]

I have a theory that every group needs another group to look down their noses at.

Many here in the USA see bull fighting as barbaric, but live in a culture that allows boxing, a "sport" where two humans to attempt to beat one another unconscious. We consider it "civilized" because the two combatants are the same sex, roughly the same weight, and are wearing padded gloves (which, arguably, allow them to do more damage to their opponent's brain without injuring their hands). Heck we even consider "mixed martial arts", an even more violent form of physical assault, to be a sport.

Those are great points Paul and you can add Football, Ice Hockey, Rugby or even worse yet are those Ultimate Fighting ( UFC) matches which I believe in all of the aforementioned and especially the UFC we're going to see fatalities at some point. And this is coming from an avid fan of football and boxing fan and have been for years >> I'm not too much into boxing anymore since Lennox Lewis retired it seems like the sport is dying a slow death. And truly those are good points and well taken and really can't be argued.

However the reason I hate bull fighting has nothing to do with someone else's culture or what they consider entertainment>> it just seems like the whole thing is rigged to me like WWE wrestling matches :rolleyes: It's hard to make an issue of the bull being killed when this country slaughters literally millions of animals for food anually. It's just that the entire aspect of the sport seems like a dog & pony show that is totally and completely rigged>> I've felt that way since I was a kid. If anything I would find myself rooting for the bull :D

[James Y]

I do agree with the points made about boxing and MMA/UFC (and this from someone who had competed in some pre-MMA full-contact martial arts matches), but there is at least one major difference between those two sports and bullfighting: the fighters are there completely of their own free will, whereas the bulls are not.

The same with the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

But again, I'm not going to call for a ban on bull fighting, because it's the culture of whatever countries have it to decide on. I've heard that in American bull riding the bulls are subjected to various forms of mistreatment to make the bulls buck more aggressively. So I hesitate to point my finger at other nations, because when I do, three of my own fingers are pointing right back at myself (even though I personally have zero interest in bull riding and rodeo in general).

BTW: there already have been several MMA-related deaths, though AFAIK not actually in the UFC organization itself (yet).

Jim

[TkoK83Spy]

Boxing/MMA/etc are all by choice. 2 human beings that chose to put themselves into battle, knowing they could be seriously injured or killed. A bull doesn't know that or have the option to say no to the contest.

[Evil D]

If the bull didn't get ran through the streets for miles and stabbed several times before getting to the ring it might be more fair and then maybe I'd be ok with it.

[ChrisinHove]

There are a few types of bloodless bull fighting, including in Southern France. I’ve seen that, visited a few empty bull-rings, but I wouldn’t want to watch a full-on bull fight.

I do think the bull fighters must be pretty brave.

It’s not my place to comment upon other cultures’ values, though, but I will vote with my wallet when I’m visiting.

[wrdwrght]

What The Deacon said.

[The Deacon]

I do agree with the points made about boxing and MMA/UFC (and this from someone who had competed in some pre-MMA full-contact martial arts matches), but there is at least one major difference between those two sports and bullfighting: the fighters are there completely of their own free will, whereas the bulls are not.

BTW: there already have been several MMA-related deaths, though AFAIK not actually in the UFC organization itself (yet).

Jim

Boxing/MMA/etc are all by choice. 2 human beings that chose to put themselves into battle, knowing they could be seriously injured or killed. A bull doesn't know that or have the option to say no to the contest.

By that logic, we should allow dueling.

As for the bulls, is the meat used, or wasted? If the later, I'd agree with you. But, if the former, why is being killed in a bull ring any worse than being killed in a slaughterhouse? Please don't try to convince me those animals don't know something bad is about to happen, not that I've ever let that stop me from enjoying a steak or a hamburger.

[James Y]

I do agree with the points made about boxing and MMA/UFC (and this from someone who had competed in some pre-MMA full-contact martial arts matches), but there is at least one major difference between those two sports and bullfighting: the fighters are there completely of their own free will, whereas the bulls are not.

BTW: there already have been several MMA-related deaths, though AFAIK not actually in the UFC organization itself (yet).

Jim

Boxing/MMA/etc are all by choice. 2 human beings that chose to put themselves into battle, knowing they could be seriously injured or killed. A bull doesn't know that or have the option to say no to the contest.

By that logic, we should allow dueling.

Fencing and Kendo are two examples of (symbolic) sword dueling that we still have today. And although fairly safe, they still carry the risk of injury and on rare occasions, even death. All sports carry some risks.

It could be argued that American football, even though knocking out or forcing an opponent to submit is not the goal, is AT LEAST as injurious to the body and the brain as boxing or MMA. Yet NFL football is the most popular spectator sport in this country. Although I'm not a football fan, I can pretty much guarantee that very, very few Americans would want to see football as it is abolished, including many of those who would support an outright ban on boxing and/or MMA.

The main difference for me between bull fighting and a slaughterhouse is that in the former, its death is being cheered by a crowd. But like I alluded to earlier, there may be some cultural significance and respect being given to the bull that I don't see. I WILL say, however, that at least in bull fighting, the bull at least has an opportunity to get at his executioner.

I say this, knowing full well that I'm being hypocritical. Although I have not eaten either beef or pork, nor any products containing it for around 25 years, I still eat poultry and on rare occasions seafood. And although I believe that animals in general deserve respect and should be protected, especially in the wild, I'm not really a big animal rights advocate.

Jim

[MichaelScott]

I lived in Spain for two years. I studied the history of bullfighting and read Death in the Afternoon. I have seen many bullfights. I have sat by the road and watched the toros and vaca bravas for hours. It is obvious that few Americans understand what a corrida is about or how it is done, much less why.

A Spanish toro is by nature a serious and deadly fighting animal. So is man (refer to our long history of killing one another). There are few arenas in which humans get to test themselves with the outcome of success or death. We have managed to remove that factor from almost everything and consider those who refuse to comply as crazy, thrill-seeking lunatics. Even the “brutal” and inherently dangerous activities like MMA, car racing and sword fighting have been regulated to reduce the chance of death.

The bull gets to go out fighting according to its nature and so does the torero. The dead bull is used for food, usually for those who can’t afford much. Same can’t be said for the matador.

It’s easy to denigrate the practices and activities of a different culture that we don’t understand. Happens all the time.

[demoncase]

Regardless of what I might find distasteful and needlessly cruel- it's entirely up to the Spanish to decide what should be banned.