PLEASE tell everyone you know that every year in Spain and other places such as Mexico and parts of South America, bulls are goaded, tormented and killed in this blood ‘sport’.
In bullfighting, there is no fair fight. Frightened, confused and in pain, the bull faces prolonged and ritualised cruelty.
This typically begins as the bull enters the arena, where picadors on blindfolded horses twist lances into his back and neck, causing excruciating pain and blood loss and preventing him from being able to lift his head or think properly.
The banderilleros – men bearing brightly coloured sticks with nasty harpoon points on them – run the bull in circles, plunging the sharpened ends into his back until he is so dizzy and weak that he cannot run any more.
Finally, the matador goads the exhausted bull into a few final charges before trying to kill the animal with his sword.
Many bulls drown in their own blood because the matador punctures the bull’s lungs instead of the heart.
If he succeeds, the bull’s ears and tail will be cut off and presented to him as a gift. If he fails, an executioner stabs the mutilated animal to death.
The process is so stomach-turning that many spectators leave before the end and never see another bullfight again.
Pauline McSweeney, Rufforth , York.
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