Bullfighting Banned in Catalonia, Spain
Bullfighting is not really a sport, it is animal cruelty. But it is also historical tradition in Spain and has thousands of fans in the country. It is a big tourist attraction but it is still an unbelievably horrendous scenario. It usually happens that the bull dies horrifically in a bullfight and the point of the spectacle is to kill the bulls. A very recent news story states that the province of Catalonia in Spain has banned bullfighting. This landmark decision was taken by the province’s parliament and it is hoped that this ban will slowly spread to other parts of Spain and bullfighting will be eradicated once and for all.
Bullfighting has a very ancient history stretching back thousands of years. The earliest depiction of the activity was a wall painting that was uncovered in the ancient city of Knossos in Crete. It is believed to be dated from 2000 BC. The painting showed acrobats grabbing bulls by the horns and leaping over them. Bullfighting was also found in ancient Rome but it was popularised on the Iberian Peninsula, where contests of fighting bulls were developed. The Moors who invaded the area turned bullfighting into a similar form to what it is today in the year 711 AD. The Moors turned bullfighting from a mindless brutish activity to a proper sport which they practised on horseback on ritualistic feast days. Over time the focus of the fights turned to the people on foot rather than to the men on horseback and in 1776 the sword, called an abattoir, and red cape were introduced to the fights and bullfighting took on the format that exists to this day.
There are two sides to the argument about bullfighting. On the one hand we have the people who see bullfighting as a part of Spanish culture and tradition and they do not think it is cruelty to animals. Their arguments are that they cannot forget about their traditions and also that the bull’s meat is eaten after it is killed so its death is not in vain. They also claim that the bull does not suffer because the bullfighter is trained and skilled to kill the bull efficiently. On the other hand those that claim that bullfighting is animal cruelty, say that the bulls are killed for fun and not out of necessity and during a fight a bull is repeatedly stabbed with an abattoir and each fight lasts a long time so it is not a painless way to die. A lot of people also say that a lot of fuss is being made about bulls dying during bullfighting and not a lot of fuss is being made about slaughterhouses that are usually a lot crueller then the fights. Whichever way it is looked at this debate is not going to end anytime soon.
It seems bullfighting is deeply entrenched in Spanish culture. In 2004 there were calls to ban the practise but it endured. The Spanish capital of Madrid has even made bullfighting a protected art form. The practise will be protected by law under which it will be given special cultural value such as art and literature. It is interesting that the place that has turned the practise into a protected art form is also the place that is run by the conservative part and sees upholding of bullfighting as a vote clincher. So not banning the sport is good for the ruling party’s political campaign. Over time this might change with a more liberal government in place but at the moment if the present government is going to get votes by protecting bullfighting, it will continue to do so.
The parliament of Catalonia has taken a bold and forward looking step but this too seems to be full of politics. The province of Catalonia has banned bullfighting after it received a petition signed by 180,000 people who were against bullfighting. While this ban, which comes into effect in 2012, is a very positive sign and will probably spread to other parts of the country, it is seen by many as a political move by the Catalonia government to distance itself from its Spanish counterparts. Even though it is politically motivated and the Catalonia government is looking for votes with the ban as well, if the ban helps to outlaw this barbaric and outdated practise then it is a very positive step.
Whether this ban will lead to major changes in the country, we will have to wait and see. But it is high time that this non sport is banished to the history books. Animal cruelty as a sport and for fun really does not have any place in modern society.
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