Olé, Olé, Olé, Oh No!: Bullfighting in the United States and Reconciling Constitutional Rights with Animal Cruelty Statutes
By Angela N. Velez.
Consider scenario one. A dog lies on the cold, hard floor of a dark room. He has not eaten for days. A door suddenly opens, providing a glimmer of light. Before the dog can get too excited, a stranger pulls the dog from his chainlink cage and drags him to a wooden arena to face his opponent: another dog. Given the dogs’ selective breeding and forced exercise regimens, the dogs were undoubtedly bred and raised to fight. After months of training in isolation, the dogs are clearly aroused by each other’s presence. The fight begins. The dogs are encouraged to battle and are expected to put on a bloody show for the spectators. The battle ends only when one dog cannot continue; sadly, however, many dogs do not die during the fight. Rather, they succumb to their injuries or die at the hands of losing, disappointed, and angered owners.
Now, consider scenario two. A rooster sits in a tiny wire crate. A stranger forces the rooster from the crate and prepares him for combat. His once full-feathered body is now almost bare, each feather plucked plume by plume, so that his opponent has fewer feathers to grab during the fight. Razor-edged spurs are attached to the rooster’s small feet to maximize his ability to cause injury to his rival rooster. The rooster, like the dog, was bred for aggression and trained to fight. “The birds are teased into a fighting humor while held in the hand, and viciously pluck at each other’s heads; now they are dropped on the ground with a quick movement, and at the order of the referee[,] they are at it.” A gory battle ensues between the two birds, as each uses its metal spurs to tear skin, puncture eyes, and break bones. The goal of the fight is not the birds’ deaths, but death is frequently the result. Many roosters die from injuries that are inflicted by their opponents’ spurs.
Finally, consider scenario three. A bull grazes on an open ranch where he has lived since his birth. A stranger hurries the bull from the field and prods him into a narrow crate to be transported by truck to the plaza de toros, or bullring. The stranger then lures the bull from the crate into a dark holding pen where he waits until he is called to the bullring. The bullpen door is opened, and the bull charges into the ring. He is both agitated from his confinement and relieved by his release into the spacious arena. Suddenly, a man on horseback thrusts a sharp pic into the base of the bull’s neck and then quickly removes it. Another man on horseback attacks the bull with a second pic. The bull is now on alert that he must fight. This fight is not at the ranch where he once fought other bulls over territory, or even over a mate. This fight has higher stakes for the bull: he must fight man for his life. The bull’s neck, already weakened by the pics, is lowered as he attacks a third man and prepares to gore him. The man then shoves ornamented wooden barbs, or banderillas, between the shoulders of the bull. The exhausted bull must fight the pain and weakness of his muscles to continue the battle. However, the banderillas and the bull’s own exhaustion force his head to remain low; the bull’s final adversary, yet another man known as the matador, is thus able to reach over the bull’s horns and thrust his sword between the bull’s shoulders. The bull, bloody and weak from the series of attacks he has endured, falls to the ground and dies.
Although the players may change, the game remains the same. In each scenario, the animal’s natural aggression is amplified because the animal is forced to fight and defend itself at the hands of human interveners.
keep reading.