Bullfighting Ethics

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Imagine this: an innocent animal is tortured and forced into an arena. Then, for the amusement of spectators, it is brutally mutilated, then killed. For many years, the ethics of bullfighting have been the center of an extremely heated debate. Some say that it has cultural significance, while others say that it is animal cruelty. Although one group perceives bullfighting as an art that symbolizes life and death, it’s torture for the bull and the others involved. First things first, the bull suffers immensely during a bullfight. Men on horseback- dubbed “Picadors”- first tire the bull and attack him with a lance. It is only after this that the matador steps in. Small, harpoon-like weapons called banderillas are plunged into the bull’s body. When it is time for …show more content…

The horses and people are also at risk. The article “Horses – the forgotten victims of bullfighting” by Maria Lopes states, “It’s not unusual for horses used in bullfights to be so badly gored by the bulls that they have to be killed, but only after they have been dragged from the ring and the view of the spectators.” The apparently protective coat they are given does nothing but masks the wounds. Not only that, but the horses are blindfolded and have cotton stuffed into their ears so they can neither hear nor see the charging bull. Of course, the matador may get injured, too, albeit rarely. Rather recently, in June of 2017, a matador by the name of Ivan Fandino died from his injuries after being violently gored. Additionally, a year before that, Víctor Barrio Hernanz was killed in during a bullfight. The article “Victor Barrio: Spanish matador gored to death live on TV” reports that, “Professional bullfighter Victor Barrio, 29, was killed by a bull which flipped him over with a horn, then continued to gore and push him along the ground... Doctors were unable to save him and he died in hospital.” This sad excuse for a ‘sport’ harms everyone

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