Discussion Point: Bullfight Ban

Postcard from Spain

Beautiful tradition or barbaric cruelty?

Today Catalonia's legislature voted to ban bullfighting in the region starting January 1, 2012. I find this subject is a difficult one. It can't be denied that this sport is beautiful and captivating. If you have ever seen a bullfight, it feels almost like a religious experience...you can't help but feel the sacrifice of the bull (even if it is only for entertainment). Then there is the swift, precise, and graceful movements of El matador, dancing dangerously between life and death. The colors of his costume, the arch of his back, the red of his cape and the intensity of his concentration. It is almost as if you can see the communication between him and the bull. There is an understanding, a respect. The agreement that the end of the fight will bring a dignified death to one of them in the ring. It is beautiful to be able to watch something that has been virtually unchanged for hundreds of years.

There is also the ugly reality that it is the unnecessary taunting of an animal who otherwise might meet death in a more humane manor. It is by definition a blood sport.

I have contradictory feelings towards bullfighting. While I find it disgusting to have people pay to watch any living thing brought to a slow death (I cannot even throw lobsters into boiling water), I could not resist going to a bullfight in Spain. I will never forget the beauty and it made me respect the bull more than I ever imagined I could.

Is the beauty of tradition enough of a reason to continue this sport?