It is known that ' bullfighting ' is not supported by the great majority of the Spanish Population so I am very curious as to why the Bullfighting community is so keen to now promote their blood sport to the EU Members of Parliament - oh yes, perhaps it is a culture that is fading away quicker than they would hope ! All I can say is the banning of such blood sports cannot happen soon enough, especially for the animals who are forced to endure such cruelty, the bulls, the horses. Tradition ? There are many ' cultural traditions ' that have been banned - tradition doesn't make the act acceptable or right ! What will you find during a bullfight, where is the art ? where is the glory - even being called a bullfight is a complete misreprensation of what the act is ? When sitting at a bullring all you see and hear is the slow and sadistic torturing to death of an animal to death by a group of men. NOT MUCH OF A FIGHT INVOLVED IS THERE when you take a bull, ' treat it with drugs and other tricks of the trade that are done to make the job of the killers easier ' before it is sent in to the arena - no not a fight - it is a taunting, torturing and the slaughter of these animals by slaughtermen disguised fancy suits ! And the use of the horses, vocal cords cut so they cannot cry out when they are being bashed and gored by the bull, I have film of a horse being stitched up - without any pain killers, his ear being twisted to distract the pain of being stitched ! These poor horses, once sold to the bullring will never leave alive, if they are not fatally wounded during the ' event ' they are killed at the end of the season - more old horses will be bought and used for the next ! Bullfighting takes place during so called religious festivals - try to imagine our good Lord Jesus sitting and cheering during a bullfight - the imagination just doesn't go there does it ! There are many horrid tortures of animals during fiesta's that take place in Spain, this is not something for them to be proud of, it is something that needs to end and seen only in the history books in a chapter called THINGS WE WERE ASHAMED OF ! When you allow such bloodletting of animals, what message does it send to the children, the future generation which will be in charge of taking care of Spain and the needs of it's people and animals. Animal welfare is not breed or event specific, if you are going to have good welfare laws for one, you must then include all animals within these laws !
Spain has such beauty to offer, we need not hear the cries of suffering animals, or spill their blood included in their culture any more !



Mary Alice Pollard
Former Canadian/USA Representative of the INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL AGAINST BULLFIGHTING (UK)

Cornwall's Voice for Animals.UK
Member: (OIPA) International Organisation for Animal Protection

Bullfighting is the one and only reason that myself and my family have never visited Spain, And while it is still allowed to happen we never will.
I fail to see any " merits " in this hideous pastime, All i see is pain and suffering. Something which in 2008 is totally unacceptable,
Spain really needs to outlaw this ancient " tradition " and show the rest of the world its more compassionate side !

Whose stupid idea was it to have an exhibition celebrating the sadistic ritual which is bullfighting ? No doubt some equally stupid person will organise a celebration of the holocaust next. Shame on the EU for accepting this.

There is no bullfight, there is a bull and men with weapons. The bull is tortured to death, and the men and women who do this should be ashamed to hole their heads up so high. As should the Eu. Parliment, what are you thinking? Spain is losing interest in bullfighting, the people are concious these days of the inhumanity of this ritual kill. So the cowards who kill are trying to enlist other countries to back this brutality! Say no to this hideous and cowardly act against animals!

We ask all Euro Deputees to personally intervene and to prevent this exhibition of torture from happening. Bullfighting is not about a fair fight between equal partners. Bullfighting is about manipulations - fisical and financial manipulations. They have taken our EU-taxpayers subsidies long enough to finance their bloody entertainment. Kick those thugs out of the EU-Parliament!!!
Mechthild Mench, Initiative Anti-Corrida, Munich, Germany

I strongly protest at the intention of the European parliament to allow an ehibition promoting bullfighting to be staged in the EU building in Brussels.

By allowing this to happen the parliament are giving credence to this public animal torture and killing that is done in the name of culture.

Instead of promoting bullfighting, the EU should be doing all in its power to get it banned. If this exhibition goes ahead it will show how out of touch the MEPs are with the feelings of the majority of their constituents.

Friend-EPAR/OIPA/Alliance for Animal Rights,
Dr. Slavica Mazak Beslic:
The World is now entering its Third Millennium AD;-the life of every living being on Earth, human and nonhuman, who can feel pain ,who can be sad ,who can be happy,- are to be considered as being of the greatest value-all lives are to be considered equally important .All living PERSONS have an equal right to live.Persons are all ,human and nonhuman animals - all living beings who can feel pain, who can be sad or happy;All persons: human and nonhuman ,are precious .This must be main postulate of Third Millennium - as the main reason for save our wonderful Planet Earth .Bullfighting is just one of the biggest shame of human hystory , the same like burning witches at the stake -that is not tradition , but crimes to the persons .

This is a disgusting proposition and brings the EU Parliament into disrepute.
Are MEP's so thick and brainless that they need to see bullfighting under their very noses before being able to decide that tearing any animal to pieces for entertainment is barbaric - cruel and morally degrading and thus should be banned forthwith in all Member States.

I implore that the European Parliament regard Bullfighting for what it is, a Cruel, Torture of an Innocent Creature! When Tradition takes precedence over Compassion & Respect, we will continue to reap what we sew, and the World will continue to prey upon innocents, Animal & Human. We are all God's creatures, and All Life Is Sacred! When the World actually starts to practice this Fundamental Law, we will then, and only then, be able to live in Peace & Harmony on this Earth. Bull fighting, Dog fighting, Cock fighting, and other violent games, we play for the sake of tradition, amusement, or gain, have no place in this World. There are so many other things that need to be done, that are meaningful to us, and All the Creatures on this Planet. Bull fighting is Disgusting, Degrading & Cruel, and needs to be abolished!

Sincerely,
Rich Russom
CVFA UK Patron
Rich Russom
Rich@Russom.com
http://www.hornhead.russom.com
http://www.iacmusic.com/RichRussom
http://www.soundclick.com/richrussom

I fail to see any merits to the torture and death of an animal. This cruel "sport" has no place in a civilised society nor in a EU country. It should be banned immediately and all promotion of bull fighting including this ridiculous exhibition should be illegal. Spain, Portugal and other countries which still allow this horrendous slaughter to continue should be ashamed. The goverments should listen to the majority of their populations and ban bull -fighting. Until then, I will not visit these countries.

Don't you think it is time barbaric Catholic countries like Spain learned respect for our fellow beings and banned perversions like bullfighting ? Decent respectful nations do. Shame on this disgusting country.

I visited Spain many times when my mother lived there, I saw first hand the suffering of street dogs, in fact I trod on a lump of bone and flesh when leaving a restaurant one evening in the dark, the lump of bone turned out to be 'Roo' a beautiful crossbreed puppy that my mother restored to a living being, my children adored her and Roo became a happy, well fed, wonderful dog with food, time, care and love. There were many others to follow. I believe Spanish people are inherently good hearted souls with a love of life. Sadly their ancestors have bequeathed them a bloodlust, through celebration of violent fiestas and bull fighting that is hard to let go. But let go they must, if Spain and her people are ever to become truly compassionate. There are many good things happening in Spain, young people are becoming interested in animals and their emotions, their feelings, their distress and their pain. This is how Spain will change in time, through the younger generations, who see the so called 'sport' for what it really is, absolute barbaric and unnecessary horror, pain unimaginable inflicted on animals that have no choice but to run for their lives or turn and make an attempt to struggle for their freedom, their will to live is strong but is no match for this unfair game of 'let's kill the animal'. We must all speak out against animal cruelty in 2008 wherever it occurs. The way the world is heading is not compassionate, we need more care for sentient beings, we need to become humane and to respect the fact that flesh and blood feels pain like we do, no matter what form it takes or how it looks. Let's really think about this and ask ourselves if we should be raising the profile of a sad spectacle, the dance of death! And remembering my days in Spain, I'm afraid my happy memories of the vibrant and lively people are always eclipsed by the haunting images of little scraps of bone and flesh called 'dogs' clinging to life in my mother's caravan, being fed milk from a fingertip because they were too far gone to lap from a bowl. No, I would never return to Spain for a holiday. The only reason I would go back there now is to help animal rescue and to play a benefit gig to raise money for the admirable shelter staff who do the most remarkable and difficult job of picking up strangled galgos and battered street dogs that have been left to their own devices, their bones broken and their necks lacerated, thanks to the lack of animal protection and lack of regard for animals in this country of sunshine and laughter. Underneath the laughter I assure you there is a dark underbelly of callous cruelty, indifference and ignorance to the plight of animals and their demise. Thousands of Spanish animals will NEVER know the kindness of one human being in their whole lives. It is shameful and the bull ring magnifies the whole Spanish experience only too well. Culture yes, animal cruelty NO! Please care for the defenceless, the innocent, the lost, the lonely, the homeless, the abused, the voiceless. For they only have us to guard and protect them when their pitiful cries go unheard. If you want to exhibit something to be proud of celebrate your young people leading the way compassionately, celebrate the arts, celebrate LIFE, not death!

What a misnomer! This suggests that the bull is an active participant in the corrida, rather than a victim forced into the ring, drugged, beaten and stuck with spears before his 'heroic' opponent eventually slaughters him.

Bullfighting is a shame and a disgrace, an ugly tumor on the face of Europe; giving the so-called sport a voice in the EU is just as despicable as giving a voice to fascism.

Whilst it might be argued that all points of view should be given freedom of expression - and on the whole I wouldn't disagree with that, it is important that censorship founded in prejudice be overcome, not invited - this is not the forum for such a biased display. The facts of bullfighting are plainly available, and the fact remains that the majority of civilised Europeans see it for what it is and would prefer that this tradition, rather like slavery, were consigned to another long overdue history book.

Just after this news came out, I had some not so exciting news regarding a children's bullfighting school in Mexico - it is time that we over here now made a strong stand, and PUT OUR FOOT DOWN ON CRUELTY ! Let's make the example that the torturing to death of animals in the name of whatever excuse they happen to use ( sport - they need to look up the meaning of the word sport - art - or religion ) IS WRONG. That to teach our children that this kind of behavior, this kind of disrespect for other living beings is acceptable ... IT IS NOT ! There are more crimes against people, every day we hear about how children are harming other children ... guns, knives, it seems to be the acceptable way now to resolve differances. We can expect this evil virus to continue to grow world wide because they are growing and learning from the start that animal life has no value and that it is ok to torture and kill them. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time we took a good hard look at this situation at the grass roots and stop these disasterous seeds from spreading !

Thank you, CVFA, for your interesting comments. 'This evil virus' is actually a manifestation of the darker side of human nature, found to some degree in all of us.

Having (arguably) reached the top of the pecking order of species on this planet (for a while!) humans are behaving very arrogantly in many different ways.

Unfortunately, Sport, Art and Religion are not the major excuses here ... instead of thinking 'Plaza de Toros', think RESTAURANT!

The hunting, torturing, killing, cooking and eating of fellow animals - not such a big step from cannibalism - is just one example of the behaviour of our endearing species ... not a good thing to do if we want to convince our children to be nice to all living things!

Whether or not it's possible to stop any of this is another matter ...

this is just yet another example of mans arrogance, ignorance & total lack of compassion & morality. that people can think acts of unecessary barbaric violence can be considered 'entertainment' is beyond me. and, in comparison to animals, we are supposed to be the civilized ones?!!!humans are the only 'animals' that kill for fun. . .

We write this comment in order to support the anger shown by most of the people respect to the barbarian "tradition" of the bullfighting. Taking into account that we are two young Spanish nationals (currently living in Ireland), we feel especially concerned by the new direction chosen by one of the two main political parties in Spain, the Popular Party. But more than anger, we want to express our sadness for the lack of action that is possible to see in most of Spanish society. However, we would also like to point out that calling Spain "a barbarian Catholic country" or a "disgusting country", as Mr. Adrian Appley does in his post, will not help at all in changing the opinions of Spanish people; on the contrary, it will stimulate a wrong sense of patriotism, working clearly against the bulls (that are what really matter here).
Regards, Beatriz Gómez and Guillermo Caravantes