Mercy, Not Murder: PETA’s Campaign to Urge the Catholic Church to Condemn Bullfighting
With the election of Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church can carry on Pope Francis’ legacy in a powerful way—by boldly condemning bullfighting. These cruel events are a grave violation of Christ’s mercy and compassion, and Pope Leo XIV has a responsibility to speak out against them.
Bullfights Are Sinful
Every year, humans slaughter tens of thousands of bulls in festivals held in honor of Catholic saints. During these events, assailants on horses drive lances into a bull’s back and neck before others plunge banderillas into his back, inflicting acute pain whenever he turns his head and impairing his range of motion. Eventually, when the bull becomes weak from blood loss, a matador appears and attempts to kill the animal by plunging a sword into his lungs. A knife is used to cut his spinal cord. The bull may be paralyzed but still conscious as his ears or tail are cut off and presented to the matador as a trophy, and his body is dragged from the arena.
PETA Is Putting Our Faith in His Holiness to Help End Bullfighting
As Pope Leo XIV assumes his role, PETA is continuing our campaign to urge the Catholic Church to cut ties with the violent, deadly bullfighting industry. Keep reading to see our bold demonstrations, pleas to the Vatican, and more.
‘Virgin Mary’ and Dozens of ‘Dead Bulls’ Make Bloody Plea at Running of the Bulls
Ahead of the Running of the Bulls at the San Fermín festival, animal advocates from PETA UK and Spanish animal protection group AnimaNaturalis recreated the Pietà —Michelangelo’s depiction of the Virgin Mary cradling the body of Jesus Christ. Instead of Jesus, she was mourning a “dead bull” as dozens of other “bloody bulls” lay lifeless in a pile around them, wearing nothing but black underwear and “horns.”
During the San Fermín festival, bulls are chased by a violent mob through the narrow streets of Pamplona , where they risk crashing into barriers and walls, falling and breaking their legs, or colliding with each other. Then, in the ring, men taunt and stab each bull with a lance and several harpoon-like banderillas before the matador stabs the exhausted animal with a sword. PETA has previously offered Pamplona’s mayor €298,000 to cancel the Running of the Bulls—an offer that still stands.
Real Men Don’t Hurt Bulls: Airborne Message from PETA UK and PACMA
At the Bous a la Mar festival in Dénia, Spain, where humans force panicked bulls to jump into the sea, a sky-high message appeared, courtesy of PETA UK and the Spanish animal rights party PACMA.
Pope Leo XIV Gets a Message From 200,000 Devout Animal Defenders: ‘End the War on Bulls’!
On the heels of Pope Leo XIV’s election, compassion made a bold appearance in Vatican City. PETA U.K. lit up the Apostolic Palace with a massive nighttime projection, delivering a powerful message from nearly 200,000 caring Catholics: Bullfighting is a sin. The petitions—originally directed at his predecessor, Pope Francis—urged the Vatican to denounce this bloody spectacle. Now, all eyes are on Pope Leo XIV to carry the torch of kindness and speak up for sensitive, feeling bulls.
PETA Urges New Pope Leo XIV to Honor Pope Francis’ Legacy of Compassion
In response to the Conclave electing Cardinal Robert Prevost to be Pope, PETA rushed the new pontiff a letter respectfully requesting that he pay homage to Pope Francis’ (the name chosen in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Animals) compassionate legacy by cutting the Catholic Church’s ties to bullfighting.
“We pray that you will find it in your heart to follow Pope Francis’ compassionate legacy by doing what he surely would have done had he had more time on Earth, and cut the Catholic Church’s sacrilegious ties to the torture killing of bulls for entertainment,” wrote PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “In predominantly Catholic countries, this hideously cruel blood sport … survives in part because the Church permits its promoters to use the Church’s and the saints’ names.”
PETA to the Vatican: “Don’t Let His Legacy Go Up in Smoke”
Just in time for the election of the new Pope, PETA U.K. rolled out a powerful message across Rome, urging the Catholic Church not to let Pope Francis’ kind legacy go up in smoke. PETA launched the eye-catching appeal on 100 pedestrian billboards throughout the city—including right near the Vatican. The message encouraged Pope Francis’ successor to follow in his footsteps by embracing mercy for all our fellow animals.
Pope Francis, who was chosen as PETA’s Person of the Year a decade ago, wrote in his encyclical Laudato Si’, “Every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity.” As far back as the 16th century, Pope Pius V—who has since been canonized—banned bullfighting, which he described as “cruel and base spectacles of the devil and not of man” and contrary to “Christian piety and charity.” The doctrine of the Catholic Church clearly states that humans should not “cause animals to suffer or die needlessly,” yet Catholic priests often officiate at religious ceremonies in bullrings and minister to bullfighters in arena chapels—actions that should be unequivocally banned by the Vatican.
Take Action for Bulls
As the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV has the opportunity to turn a new page for the Church—one that honors all of God’s creation with kindness and respect. Join us in urging His Holiness to denounce bullfighting:
