On Saturday, in the town of Onda, Valencia, Spain, a 55-year-old man was repeatedly attacked by bulls during a "bull run" campaign, and other participants tried to lure the bull away but failed. The man suffered head and left leg injuries and has since died of excessive blood loss.
It was the first death in Spain since the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions and the resumption of such activities this summer. The onda town authorities subsequently cancelled all related activities.
In recent years, the debate in Spain about whether to abolish "bull running" and bullfighting activities has intensified.
Speaking through the Spanish newspaper El País, a Spanish reader said, "I wonder, why should I make my daughter excited about slaughtering animals? He added that now we are only supporting animal cruelty just to promote the tradition of the Running of the Bulls.
Casualties caused by Spanish "bull running" activities are not uncommon
The tradition of "running cattle" is not limited to Spain, but also in countries such as France, Portugal and Mexico. During the festival, the local "bull running" event is held every morning, and bulls weighing more than 500 kilograms run wildly in the streets, chasing the herds in front of them, and some people will run behind the cows and occasionally touch the cows.
On September 5, 2021, local time, Villaseca de la Sagra, Toledo, central Spain, held a bull running festival. Figure/IC photo
On some festivals, bullfighting is also held at night, and bulls are killed by bullfighters.
The BBC reported that casualties in the course of cattle running were not uncommon. Since 1910, at least 16 people have been killed in the celebration of the "San Fermín" festival in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona.
St. Fermin, also known as the Running of the Bulls, is a traditional celebration known for its depiction in Ernest Hemingway's book The Sun Also Rises. Although the event was cancelled last year and this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still held as usual in some other parts of Spain.
The most controversial event of the bull run is the bullfighting activity, and its cruelty to bulls has caused a lot of controversy. The New York Times explained that bullfighting was once extremely popular in the 1980s, but due to the emergence of modern society's more sensitive to animal feelings, more urbanized society and other various forms of entertainment, people are increasingly unacceptable to animals being brutally slaughtered in the process.
Fausto, a Spaniard, also pointed out in an interview with the Beijing News that this way of entertainment is extremely absurd. "Bullfighting is extremely brutal and there is no reason to exist now in the 21st century."
There are not only matadors (Torero/Matador de Toros) on the bullring, but also Picador and Banderilleros ., the Horse Trainers.
When fighting bulls, the first horse trainers will stab the bull with a spear, and according to the animal protection organization that opposes bullfighting, the horse trainer will further twist the spear and push it deep into the bull's back and neck muscles to ensure that the bull loses a lot of blood.
The short gunner then inserts the short gun into the bull's back (the short gun is a weapon used exclusively for bullfighting, brightly colored, about 70 to 80 centimeters long). After the short gun is inserted, the bull will run in a circle until it is exhausted.
Finally, the matador will aim his sword at the bull's aortic or lungs in an attempt to kill it. An animal protection group noted that if the attempt fails, the matadors will try to cut the bull's spinal cord with other weapons such as daggers. The bull is often paralyzed but still awake, and its ears and tail are cut off as spoils of war and given to the bullfighters.
When the bull took its last breath, its horns would be chained and dragged away from the arena.
Separately, the Animal Protection Group World Animal Foundation says bulls are injected with sedatives and laxatives before the race to make them weaker, and vaseline is rubbed in their eyes to blur their vision. In the weeks before the bullfighting, they began to hang heavy objects around the bull's neck, and the bull would be confined to the dark for several hours before the bullfighting.
Support and opposition to bullfighting go hand in hand
A survey conducted by Electomania, a polling firm in 2020, showed that 46.7% of Spaniards opposed the preservation of the bullfighting tradition, 18.6% believed that the tradition should be retained, and the remaining 34.7%, while not supporting bullfighting, also believed that bullfighting should not be strictly prohibited through legislation.
According to the BBC, Espanyols who support bullfighting say the tradition is part of Spain's national heritage. Bullfighter Juan Diego Vicente called on people to respect bullfighting, saying it was a cultural tradition he risked his life to fight for.
On September 18, 2021 local time, at the bullring of Maestranza in Seville, Spain, matador Pablo Aguado in bullfighting. Figure/IC photo
Although Fausto opposes the bullfighting tradition, he also said it is understandable that many people's work revolves around bullfighting, and they live out of it. He believes the government should eliminate any public subsidies and let those who want to support bullfighting organize their own fundraising, so that bullfighting will slowly disappear in Spanish society.
Javier Gracía, a former journalist for Spain's Efe news agency, also told the Beijing news that he believes that most Spaniards are against the tradition.
Aurelio, from Andalusia, said, "I can understand that this is a tradition in our country, but I cannot accept this violence against animals. He added, "Bullfighting is extremely unequal. Because bulls are actually much stronger than humans, they will do a lot to make humans more likely to win this battle. I've heard that some bulls were deprived of water and food a few days before bullfighting, and even drugged. ”
Another Spaniard, Anna, also opposes the tradition, arguing that watching animals die in struggle should not be a pastime. "Humans killing animals for food is to meet our basic needs, but killing animals for recreational purposes is not."
Beijing News reporter Hou Wuting
Edited by Zhang Lei, Proofread by Liu Baoqing