Bullfighting: Remembering Tradition
In today’s version of bullfighting has drastically changed, what was once thought to be brave test between man and animal has been shifted to the advantage of man that it is no longer a test but rather a senseless slaying of an already weakened and disoriented animal. Before the bull even enters the arena they are taunted and abused. The naturally nonaggressive bulls are riled up by having their eyes rubbed with Vaseline, wet newspaper stuffed in their ears, and cotton stuffed in their nose to cut off respiration. Even the bull’s genitals are repeatedly stabbed, just to weaken the bull before its execution for the show. When the gates open, the disoriented bull tries to run for freedom but instead runs right into six men whose job is to defeat, or kill, the animal. One man is horseback using a spear; four others have barbed sticks, and lastly is the matador, who wears the iconic red cape (Lau). The bull’s pain continues as it is repeatedly struck in the shoulders and run to the point of exhaustion. It doesn’t take long for the bull to collapse and accept defeat. Finally, the matador reaches for his sword and delivers the final blow, slaying the animal in front of thousands of cheering fans. The treatment of bulls shows the harsh reality of how brutally and unethically bulls are treated today. The protesters believe bullfighting has become a completely different sport, and has lost its cultural tradition. Enthusiasts claim a ban on bullfighting would do a disservice to the country. It is time to take control of the tradition and bring it back to the prominence and class it had in the past.
Bullfighting is a centuries old tradition that traces its roots all the way back to the Roman Empire. Romans used the bulls in the gladiator arena as a different challenge for the gladiators. Traditional bullfighting from Spain started in 1726 with Francisco Romero; he is the first man to fight the bulls one on one. Then, Juan Belmonte started the modern day style of bullfighting, which consists of a six-man team taking on the one bull. Present day matadors excel in this type of fighting because it is drastically easier than in the past. Since the change to present day bullfighting, the tradition has gone cold. Switching from the fantastic act of beast and man, to the common slaughter of animals linking it directly to Spain’s tradition and culture. However the change is evident, in the past the Bulls were treated like kings, and now they are no better than the horses and donkeys they slay for entertainment. Vivienne Wharton, creator of the Animal Welfare Support Murcia, has emphasized the need for protests and stopping of the slayings. Stating, “Torturing animals is embedded in Spanish culture, whether it is fire bulls, stoning donkeys, hanging dogs, or mutilating horses” (Brennan). In understanding Spain’s culture, it is easy to see why it is such a widely accepted sport within the country and some other small regions even though the sport extremely cruel and unjust. Protest organizations are trying to educate the younger generation that this cruelty is unacceptable, and that the excuse “it’s tradition” is not good enough.
The treatment of animals is key to the respect of tradition and culture and Spain has lost its head in the matter. “Gone are the days were the bull that lorded over his field for a decade was chosen, Ferdinand-style, to strut his stuff in the arena” (Khuly). This might have been true in the old days, but modern bulls have just become an object. They are harvested forcefully for their sperm now to impregnate other cows for the meet industry. The “lucky” ones that are picked for the arena are tortured days before the fight has begun. The fact that the bulls aren’t even the same caliber, as they once were when they it was one on one, shows how much bullfighting has changed. A smaller animal, now up against six men makes for a pretty easy battle. The defense-less bulls are being lead to their slaughter and in such an unfair fight, depicts the ruthless nature of Spanish culture that goes deep beyond just bulls. Enthusiasts try to conjure up the image that bulls are still bred in nice environments where they are fed properly and groomed by their owners to be the best bulls, but in reality, all the alpha bulls that are still bred are sent to southern France or northern Spain where the tradition is still true. While the younger, smaller bulls selected in other areas to participate do not even come close to the size and strength of the mighty alphas that used to be chosen.
Today most of the income of the sport comes from tourism. About 45 million people go to Spain to witness the so-called blood sport. Visitors of Spain are usually eager to buy tickets, but do not last much longer than the first round after witnessing the real gruesome truth of bullfighting. Most of Spain’s population does not support bullfighting anymore. Recent polls show that between 60 and 70 percent of Spaniards expressed a dislike for bullfighting, but only about half of those are in favor of outright banning of the sport. Those that are in favor of the sport are above the age of 65 and with that still see the sport as the classic tradition it has always been (Vincent). Only legendary matadors, like Jose Tomas Roman Martin, who had to come out of retirement to try to rile up support of the bullfighting was able to sell out Barcelona’s “20,000 capacity Monumental bullring [for the first time] in 22 years” (Catan). But events like this are rare and alone can’t keep bullfighting going. People are finally realizing the injustice put on the animals and do not see it as a fun, or a meaningful tradition any longer. Combining that with the low amount of interest comes little to no ticket sales. Many bullrings have been regulated to shopping centers and open air markets.
Bullfighting received more problems when it started to get banned from television. Radio Television Espanola (RTVE), the major broadcasting channel in Spain, banned any television coverage to protect children. “Bullfighting shows are distressing for the young and no longer acceptable. Children can view violence exerted over animals with anxiety and we must therefore avoid it by all means” (Keely). Enthusiasts of bullfighting try to say it does no harm to their children and that there are much worse programs on TV. They see it as a right of passage for your parents to bring their children to the bullfight and to witness, as Hemingway penned, a Death in the Afternoon. However, a study done, by doctor P. F. Brain, on the effects of bullfighting on children came the conclusion that the messages being sent by the viewing of bullfighting significantly impacts “aggression, anxiety, and emotional impact levels of young viewers” (Aggressive Behavior). Citing the agonizing, gory slaying seen on the television “produce more aggression and anxiety.” While the narrations, from the video used in the study, emphasized the aggression in the fight causing more emotional ramifications. The study proved to the television company had to do something about the sport, and banning it was the only option. Its evident the impact bullfighting has on Spain, but with the way it is run today it is obvious why it is in shambles. Despite that the ban doesn’t allow the old bullfighting aficionados to watch the sport from their homes. Even so, any horrific act of violence on an animal shouldn’t be put on television for anyone to see.
In Barcelona the day of the matador is done. Matador Serafin Marin, a 28-year old Catalan, killed the last bull, a 570kg bull named Dudalegree (The Australian). The Catalonia’s parliament voted in July of 2010 to ban bullfighting after animal rights groups succeeds in gathering 180,000 signatures for a petition demanding the debate on the issue. This is a positive step toward taking control of a now brutal tradition. Carlos Nunez, president of Spain’s mesa del Toro pro-bullfighting umbrella group, called banning bullfighting in Barcelona “an attack on liberty” (The Australian). Now pro bullfighting clubs such as Mesa del Toro pro-bullfighting umbrella group are seeking 500,000 signatures in the hope it can persuade national parliament to grant bull-fighting cultural heritage status. It is definitely the right approach rather than an out right ban; however, this is a great opportunity for the local Barcelona parliament to take control of the act of bullfighting and save its place as a tradition while also convincing other parts of Spain to take action to save the sport. Critics called the ban hypocritical, citing how parliament legislation chose to ban bullfighting in the name of animal rights. Then, turned around and passed legislation that protected the correbous, a Catalan town festival event in which flaming balls of wax or fireworks are attached to the horns of the bulls and then the bulls are taunted and teased by crowds in the town squares (The Australian). The critics prove a major point about the choice of protecting only one of the traditions questioning how they can judge bullfighting to be inhumane and then turn around and call correbous an okay act toward the beasts. They also said the lost of jobs will significantly affect the social economy. This is the Matadors job, it is all they have known their whole lives and now the government says they can’t do it anymore and are crying foul (Keely). This is true, although if you consider the history of the bullfighters, they should have known better in acknowledging the changes in the treatment of the animals but all they cared about was the glory from the arena. Also, damage to the countryside caused by the loss of the ranches where the bulls are reared will be prevalent due to them being basically abandoned. They even feared that the breed of bull used in bullfights might face extinction if breeding is stopped. However, the fact of the matter is it got to the point where bullfighting needed to be banded to show the people today’s version of the act is wrong and something needs to be done about it. With the petition already in place it shouldn’t be long before it can take on its cultural heritage status and being bullfighting again. The people of Barcelona just need to be educated that calling something tradition is not enough to make it okay.
Enthusiasts can relax if they thought bullfighting would be outright banned by Spain. Madrid’s government, as well as cities such as Valencia and Valladolid, started planning to declare bullfighting as an activity of cultural interest once Barcelona banned it outright. This will allow the sport to test the waters on how it should be run in the future. With the help of the Unesco Bullfighting Project, attempts are being made by the bullfighting lobby to place bullfights under Unesco protection using the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Even in France, towns such as Bezier and Bayonne along the border with Spain also have bullrings and, according to ADDA, the French government has categorized bullfighting as an "intangible cultural heritage” (Brennan). Even though an estimated 80 percent of the French oppose the sport. This is a great example of a country taking control of a cultural tradition and bringing it back to prominence. This should allow the time necessary to explore the best possible solution to protecting the people and culture while also looking after the animals. With Spain already following suit the enthusiast should rejoice, but remember that they are the ones at fault for the years of senseless slayings and shouldn’t have let it go this far.
The conditions of present day bullfighting are not the same as when it was most prominent. The arenas no longer sell out with die-hard fans. The bulls aren’t treated like the prize beasts they once were and the people of Spain do not seem to acknowledge the injustice and cruelty they are causing the animals. Barcelona’s implement of an outright ban is not the best choice, but it does allow the people of Spain to finally open their eyes to the inhumane treatment of the beast they hold in such high regards that this treatment was not right anymore. But with Spain coming around on its grasp of bullfighting, and its application to gain Intangible Culture Heritage status the sport should be able to turn itself around. The only set back that could come out of this is if successful in achieving Unesco protection, it opens up other countries to apply for the same protection for acts such as sealing, whaling, and cockfighting. With those acts or sports, it could be hard for it but bullfighting is seen more as a cultural influence because of its presentation in front of an audience. The art of bullfighting should never die, because in the end cultural heritage is the only true thing you can pass down and it needs to stay as is to lead the next generation into understanding of there own people. Having the government take control and create regulations is the right approach to allow this tradition to continue. So people don’t have to just remember it, they can again live it.

Works Cited

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Vincent, Sam. “Fighting the Bullfight.” The Canberra Times. 18 July. 2008. LexisNexis.