Written by PETA
Try to prove you're a man by stabbing a bull with banderillos, and you might end up with his horn in your cojones.
If this happened more often, maybe the rest of Spain would follow in Catalonia's footsteps and ban bullfighting.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Did you catch The O'Reilly Factor last night? Well, here's your chance to marvel at the spot on things Bill O'Reilly said in regard to yesterday's attempted escape—and subsequent murder—of a bull during a Spanish bullfight. This quote is just too good not to share.
"Again, there is simply no reason to have bullfights. It is blood sport. Spain and the other countries that do it should knock it off. They are pinheads for allowing it."
Written by Shawna Flavell
Forty spectators were hurt when a terrified, frantic, and injured bull leapt for his life from a Spanish bullfighting arena and ran through the stands trying to escape. We regret that there is no shame in Navarra: The bull was recaptured and killed.
Some media outlets have spun this story as if the bull were the aggressor, but what else would he have tried to do but flee when crowds of screaming people were taunting him? Unlike a typical bullfight in which bulls are repeatedly stabbed until they die in a pool of blood, in this particular twisted event, a bull is subjected to constant goading in multiple events until he eventually ends up in a typical—and deadly—bullfight.
Bullfighting is on the way out. Last month, Spain's Catalan parliament voted to ban bullfighting in response to public demand. Add your voice by asking Spain's prime minister to ban this hideously cruel blood sport throughout the country.
Thanks to Leo for sending this story our way.
As if Wednesday's historic vote by the Catalan parliament in Spain to ban bullfighting wasn't enough to make you scream "Olé," we've just heard that oh-so-iconic Spanish design house Adolfo Dominguez S.A. has not only signed on to shun fur, it has also agreed not to purchase or sell exotic skins, clothing made from down plucked from live birds, or wool from Australian sheep who have endured the painful mulesing mutilation—meaning that they've have chunks of flesh cut off their backsides.
Adolfo Dominguez's aggressive animal welfare policy places the company waaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of the ethical fashion curve. For our friends in Spain, this news might warrant a spending spree. For everyone else, why not treat yourself to some fashion-forward outfits from other helpful retailers such as Gap Inc., Timberland, H&M, Liz Claiborne, HUGO BOSS, and Perry Ellis International, who have all taken action by banning fur, exotic skins, and/or wool from mulesed sheep.
Hurrah! Hard work pays off: The Catalan parliament in Spain has voted to ban bullfighting! It was clear that no other outcome was possible after officials were presented with the signatures of 180,000 people who don't believe that bulls should be stabbed to death for entertainment. According to a 2009 Gallup survey, 76 per cent of Spaniards have no interest in attending or supporting bullfights, and public condemnation of this bloody spectacle is growing worldwide. Cities and towns all over the world have taken positions against bullfighting, joining Spain's Canary Islands, which voted to ban bullfighting back in 1991.
Earlier this month, PETA U.K. and the Spanish animal rights group AnimaNaturalis joined forces to give the bulls a say—check it out.
Saucy Spanish entertainer Charo is also jumping for joy in the wake of this news, as she has been working to end bullfighting for years. "I'm more proud to be Spanish today than on any other day of my life," Charo said. "This shows that the new generation in Spain wants to lose this barbaric tradition. And I look forward to doing the cuchi cuchi at PETA's gala in September to celebrate!"
Charo recently joined forces with PETA to fight bullfighting. You can join Charo in speaking out against bullfighting by asking Spain's Prime Minister to ban the cruel blood sport throughout the country.
This week's "Win It" Wednesday prize just might be our most scentsational ever: The big winner will receive a bottle of fragrance of his or her choice from A Perfume Organic—and sample sets will go to three runners-up. Ah, if ever there were a time for virtual scratch and sniff ...
For your chance to win, simply describe the "Sweet Smell of Success"—not the movie—the compassionate action that you took to help an animal, an action that was particularly meaningful to both the animal and you. Here's my example: Years ago, I became a "nosy neighbor" who helped an old, ailing "backyard dog" out of a miserable, neglectful situation. Sheba found relief, and I realized that it's not enough to "wish away" an animal's suffering—one must take action.
The person who describes the most moving "compaction" (compassion + action = compaction) will win a perfume of his or her choice, and three others who offer rousing accounts will each win a sample pack.
The contest ends on August 11, 2010, and we'll pick the winners on August 13, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Good luck!
Written by Karin Bennett
It's the eve of one of Mexico's biggest bullfights. And earlier today, María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten, better known as Charo, the bodacious ray of sunshine from Spain, led PETA's anti-bullfight rally in Los Angeles. The lovely Latin music icon unveiled her new anti-bullfighting video for PETA and presented a simple, straightforward message: Don't Go to the Gran Corrida!
As a young girl in Spain, Charo went to weekly bullfights with her father, so she understands the gruesome, bloody reality of the corrida, which she's protested in her dance music video for España Cañi and her appearance on Dancing With the Stars.
"Cuchi-cuchi"* convince tourists to steer clear of bullfights? No doubt, but Charo—and bulls—need your help too.
*Two things I can't resist: Guacamole and painful puns. Sorry.
Actor Seth Rogen has played freaks, geeks, and police, but in my opinion his recent "role" reading the children's book The Story of Ferdinand (commonly called Ferdinand the Bull) to a group at The Colburn School in Los Angeles was his best yet. This book is about a bull named Ferdinand who reasonably wants to smell the flowers instead of being stabbed to death in a bullfighting arena.
Of course, back in 1936 when the book was written, sensibilities were of the "kill 'em and hang 'em on the wall" variety, so author Munro Leaf didn't go into detail about how bulls who are used in bullfighting are beaten and sometimes have their horns shaved (to keep them off-balance) before they are let into the ring. Because this is a book for kids, Leaf also didn't mention that bulls are repeatedly stabbed with knives (called banderillas) until they are dizzy, weakened from blood loss, and suffering agonizing pain. Even though the goal is to kill the bulls, they are often still conscious when their ears and tails are cut off as trophies and they are dragged from the ring.
There's no question that bulls would rather be doing anything other than becoming victims of bullfights. Take a minute to speak up for bulls by signing this petition to end the Running of the Bulls.
On Sunday in Mexico City, bullfighter Cristian Hernández left the ring in the middle of a fight. After he was arrested and charged a fine for breach of contract, he announced his retirement from bullfighting, saying, "I didn't have the ability, I didn't have the balls, this is not my thing." Well, we don't think that's exactly right. I mean, any coward can bully an animal. But it takes courage to walk away despite the jeers of spectators. To send a message to those who deride him, PETA is reimbursing the cost of Hernández's fine and sending him a "Real Men Are Kind to Animals" certificate that he can wave in his detractors' faces.
Townspeople may paint Hernández as a coward or imply that he is somehow less of a man for refusing to torment and kill bulls who are physically harmed, driven into an arena with a roaring crowd, run around in dizzying circles, jabbed with knives, and finally stabbed to death at the point of complete exhaustion—but, as we know, bullies are the cowards.
So let's hope Hernández sees that he can have fans when he doesn't hurt animals for a living—and to all the "real men" out there who save animals rather than stab them, please join me in giving a big "Olé!"
Written by Jeff Mackey
Given the escalating violence among young people, it's impossible to understand how anyone can cheer for 12-year-old bullfighter Michel Lagravere, who boasts that he has stabbed seven bulls to death. It's also disturbing that people continue to egg the young man on even after he was recently tossed around by a bull in a Mexican bullfight:
The misguided child walked away with only minor injuries, but that bull's days are still numbered. Bulls don't stand a chance in the arena—especially not when even a 12-year-old is permitted to torture them to death.
Did you know that bulls are physically harmed and provoked before they are let into the arena? They are beaten and sometimes have their horns shaved. Then, surrounded by the screaming crowd, the confused bulls will naturally fight for their lives as men on horses run them in circles and stab them with knives until the animals are dizzy and weakened from blood loss. Finally, the matador comes in for the killing stab when the exhausted bull is already near death.
Please contact Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhán to politely voice your objection to bullfighting and to tell him that you won't be vacationing in Mexico until bullfights are banned for good.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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