Written by PETA
When three European animal advocacy groups arrived to peacefully protest the killing of six young bulls in a bullfighting arena in Rodilhan, France, things quickly got even uglier than a bullfight already is.
While about three dozen members of Comité Radicalement Anti Corrida Europe (of France), Droits des Animaux (also of France), and Animaux en Péril (of Belgium) unfolded banners in the bleachers, 65 more protesters jumped into the arena and chained themselves together in a silent sit-in. They were immediately set upon by both the bullfighters and the spectators. The protesters were viciously kicked, punched, pummelled, dragged by the hair, and blasted with a fire hose. Some spectators in the bleachers stood up and made the bullfighting "kill" gesture—thumbs down. None of the protesters fought back during the 30-minute assault, and some suffered broken bones and contusions. Organizers of the bullfight did nothing to intervene or stop the assault.
Those still clinging to this dying pastime know that it's on the way out. Just last month, Barcelona held its last bullfight.
Please post a link to this blog on your Facebook page and everywhere else you can to expose these matadors and their fans for the violent thugs that they are.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
It has only been a few days since bullfighting ended in Catalonia, but Spaniards are reportedly already coming up with new ways to keep matadors employed that are a lot less Conan the Barbarian and a lot more Conan O'Brien.
Also in the works: a tournament of bulls' favorite card game …?
Written by Michelle Sherrow
The last bull has been stabbed to death in Barcelona now that the last scheduled bullfight has taken place in Catalonia, the Spanish region that's widely considered to be bullfighting's birthplace. Faced with nearly empty arenas and growing condemnation of killing bulls for "sport," the ban on this sadistic spectacle officially goes into effect January 1, and bullfighting is on its way out elsewhere as well.
Curious tourists who purchase tickets or those who simply go along with what's included on their travel itinerary are the only ones keeping the fights alive and bulls dying. By the time an appalled spectator rushes out of the arena in horror, the damage has been done—and more bulls will endure an agonizing death as a result.
Travelers to Spain, Mexico, and France can help end the carnage for good by refusing to buy a ticket and letting their travel agents know that they don't want bullfights included on their tour itineraries.
These animals must have listened to Robert F. Kennedy―they didn’t get mad, they got even.
Things are getting muy caliente at the PETA office during National Hispanic Heritage Month. We rounded up some of our favorite ads starring Latino supporters and created a slideshow hotter than the month of August.
From fighting fur and "fixing" animal homelessness to goring bullfighting and getting gorgeous with veggies, these Latin stars are true amigos to animals.
More than 100 supporters of PETA U.K. and the Spanish group AnimaNaturalis lay naked and "bloodied" in Pamplona's main square on Sunday to protest the cruel bull runs and subsequent bullfights, in which bulls are tortured and killed during the city's annual festival of San Fermín.
They aren't the only ones exposing Spain's shame. Sexy Spanish celebrity Elen Rivas recently stripped down for a graphic PETA U.K. ad to discourage tourists from attending bullfights when they visit Spain.
EasyJet deemed Rivas' ad to be too gruesome for its in-flight magazine.
Most Spaniards – including those in my hometown of Barcelona, where bullfighting was recently banned – are opposed to the barbaric blood sport, and PETA and I are urging British tourists not to be fooled by the industry's propaganda ...
“Bulls can do nothing to demand justice. They can only defend themselves as best they can in a fight with a pre-determined ending and die never knowing why they were forced to endure such a painful and prolonged death,” wrote PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk in a recent Huffington Post blog. “It's up to us, as a civilized society, to call for an end to the Running of the Bulls and bullfighting.”
Written by Jared Misner
Hats off to the University of South Florida (USF) Federal Credit Union for pledging not to hold future promotions of the cruel Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, after PETA explained how bulls suffer for the spectacle. Several USF students and alumni complained to PETA that the credit union was holding a "Best Bull" contest that referenced the Running of the Bulls and offered a trip to Pamplona as a prize option.
In its letter, PETA explained that people often use electric prods to force the bulls to run through the cobblestone streets, causing the animals to slip and suffer broken legs and other injuries. After they are driven to the ring, the bulls are tortured to death by being repeatedly stabbed in the neck and back before the matador kills the weakened, bleeding bulls with a sword.
After reading PETA's letter, USF Federal Credit Union President and CEO Richard Skaggs told us that his organization would not have promoted the Running of the Bulls if it was aware of the cruelty involved and that it will not reference the event or offer the trip as a prize in the future.
Seventy-two percent of Spaniards oppose bullfighting. The only thing keeping the fights alive is tourist dollars. Please opt for travel packages that don’t include bullfighting, and educate your travel agency if it offers bullfights as an option.
Spain's national television network, RTVE, has announced that it is refusing to air bullfights, noting that it is inappropriate for children (and, we might add, anybody else) to see violence toward animals. Increasing opposition to bullfighting (72 percent of Spaniards are against it, Catalonia has banned it, and Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa recently called it a "spectacle of violence") might also have something to do with the move.
In the face of so much opposition, why does bullfighting still exist? In a word: tourists. If you travel to Spain, Portugal, or Central or South America, never patronize a bullfight, and if your travel agent includes tickets to bullfights in your tour package, ask him or her for a different itinerary.
The ever-awesome Pink has just released a new video, "Raise Your Glass," which is filled with both cool and disturbing animal imagery, including a row of women producing breast milk that's being consumed by a calf. (Pink isn't afraid to knock fans out of their complacency!) The video also features an anti-bullfighting segment in which Pink shows a matador how it feels to have someone come at you with a sword.
It's little wonder that Pink's video is so cutting-edge and thought-provoking. After all, it was directed by another PETA friend—the fabulous (and vegan!) Dave Meyers, who directed our sizzling Alicia Silverstone public service announcement.
Watch the video and tell us what you think about Pink's unique way of getting the animal rights messages across.
Getting ready to listen to a radio interview with Álvaro Múnera—who was once known as "El Pilarico" (Spanish for "the star bullfighter")—I was prepared to hate him. But after Múnera was gored by a bull and became confined to a wheelchair, he reflected on his cruel past with sincere regret and renounced bullfighting. Today, this vegetarian animal defender is working to ban the deadly pastime.
In a forthright conversation with Radio Netherlands, Múnera recounted how his father's expectations and the public's misguided admiration pushed him to continue killing bulls, despite his misgivings about stabbing the animals to death. He is haunted by the animals he killed—particularly one "practice" cow whom he watched die (and who, he later learned, carried a calf in her womb) and a bull who fought to live even after a sword pierced his body and came out the other side. Múnera feels genuine sorrow for the animals whose lives he took, and his story exemplifies how a person's heart and mindset can change.
Make today the day that you vow to make a difference for animals by ordering our free vegetarian/vegan starter kit, writing a letter, starting a group, or ordering a book. It's never too late.
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