Why the Church Should Speak Out Against Bullfighting in Countries Like Mexico Virginia Bell - Catholic Action for Animals
go to original July 6, 2016

This is bullfighting. One minute is all you need to see to know that this torture is wrong. (PETA UK)

The holiday season has arrived, and tourists will be among spectators at bullfights, thus helping to ensure the continuation of this violent and cruel activity. The bullfight is a spectacle of butchery and barbarity from beginning to end. The bull is confused, frightened and distressed from the start when forced into the arena. He probably suffered pre-fight torture designed to impair his ability to defend himself. He is stabbed, speared, cut and sliced at throughout the spectacle. At the end, he is dragged out of the ring, perhaps dead, perhaps not. The cruelty is not confined to the bullring. Bullfighters practice on gentle cows in the slaughterhouse.

Horses also suffer greatly in bullfighting.

The bullfight brings the Catholic Church into disrepute, firstly because it is practiced in Catholic countries like Spain and Mexico, where it is promoted, enacted and watched by Catholics. Secondly because it is staged to celebrate feast days of the Virgin Mary and other Saints. Thirdly because priests and bishops turn a blind eye to the business, or may benefit from funds raised. Lastly because the Church has influence in these countries, and therefore has a duty to do all she can to oppose such horrific cruelty.

To understand the horror of the bullfight I urge readers to visit a site that shows what happens, like Humane Society International and Stop Bullfighting.

Read the rest at Independent Catholic News

Related: Despite Centuries of Tradition, Most Mexicans Oppose Bullfights (The News)

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