Say No to Bullfighting

Bull who apparently lost the fight.Bullfighting is a traditional sport that is beloved by many people across the world from France to Argentina. Man versus bull contests exist across the globe and throughout history in various forms, few are as gory as the Spanish-style corrida. The public spectacle is essentially a ritualistic killing of the bulls. The actual fight is broken down into three charming sections. First, the bullfighter comes out with the well known cape and dances a bit with the bull to test its ferocity and strength, then the fighter goes away and the Picador enters the ring on horseback to draw first blood from the bull with his lance. Once the bull is bleeding and enraged, the torero again enters the ring. This time he uses the colorful spears called 'banderillas' to further wound the bull by sticking five or six of these sharpened, barbed spears into the bull's neck, causing further bleeding. The final round, called the Third of Death (as the third and final stage) begins when the torero again enters the ring, this time armed with a sword. By this point the bull is often dazed and weakened having been struck through the neck with spears and banderillas up to six times. The torero then taunts the bull as it makes aggressive passes at him, having been aggravated and wounded, the bull is usually angry. When the torero feels he has performed enough with the bull, he attempts to plunge the sword through the heart, lungs or aorta via the neck. A 'great' fight ends with the instantaneous death of the bull by a direct shot to one of the vital organs. According to a Mexican bullfighter from Toreon, the 'picador' returns and inserts a small blade into the back of the bull's skull and scrambles its brains to ensure the death of the bull. The performance of the torero is then 'rewarded' by the picador cutting off either one ear, both ears or even the tail. The more appendages a fighter receives means the better his fight was received by the crowd. Other forms of bullfighting that do not claim the life of the bull exist, but the preferred form in Spain and Mexico is the corrida. The true nature of bullfighting is not usually understood by the American public, who seem to identify the cape stage as the bulk of the performance, not realizing that the bull is essentially killed for no other reason than the roar of the crowd.