LOL
As the resident bull here, I feel the need to weigh in…
I hate when a topic dissolves into this kind of argument.
Abortion vs. Animal Cruelty. C’mon.
I think a better comparison to make is Spanish Bullfighting vs. Horse Racing.
I’ve been to Spain, I’ve seen bullfights, up close and personal in 300+ year old arenas made of limestone… The whole she-bang. The end game is pretty brutal, of course. In one event there were 5 different bulls that were ultimately euthanized in the arena that I recall. Being a matador takes nerve, skill, balls, talent, athleticism, showmanship, grace, and the list can go on and on. The crowd cheers for the Matador, it doesn’t root for the bull. The crowd jeers and boos, though, when the Matador is sloppy and the bull has to be dispatched with the short knife. It’s an extremely intricate dance between man and animal, steeped in tradition and national pride.
That being said, it’s not for me.
I didn’t grow up on it, don’t understand it, and don’t really enjoy watching an animal die like that.
Now, lets look at horse racing. A pursuit that is global, a pursuit that is roundly accepted by the American public, and a pursuit that I’d wager goes through MORE animals, horses at that, than the whole bullfighting circuit in all of Spain.
Here’s an article.
Long story short, there were almost 120 horses euthanized between 2001 and 2008 at one horse track (Del Mar, here in sunny San Diego) all for gambling, all for making money. So that all the ladies can put on their fancy hats and parade around the paddock on opening day. And, Del Mar only races for a portion of the summer, not even the whole year.
Multiply that by busier race tracks all over the nation? We’re killing more thoroughbred horses for the pursuit of fucking Gambling than the Spaniards are killing Bulls for their own pursuits.
And please don’t say that “the horses only got put down because of an injury” as a viable defense, because it’s not. Those horses wouldn’t have been injured had they not been employed for the enjoyment of people, same why bulls are led into arenas to their ultimate slaughter.
There’s also circuses, rodeos, etc, where the numbers can be increased.
So, in my opinion as resident bull around here, I say put down the stones and adsorb the OP story for what it’s worth, and move on. Spend too much energy on Bullfighting and you’ll be forced to look more domestically at what Americans do to animals too.
