Baby bull tortured and stabbed in amateur bull ring

[Martinus]

Baby bull still drinking mother's milk tortured and stabbed in sick amateur bullring

Disturbing footage shows a baby bull - not yet weaned off his mother's milk - being stabbed to death and having his ears cut off during a traditional bullfight festival.

The animal was not even two years old and barely stood a chance against the bullfighters who took their time with the young calf as hundreds of spectators applauded the gruelling scenes.

The Animal Rights Party (PACMA) association shared the footage to denounce the cruelty of the 'becerradas' festival which took place in the town of Valmojado in Spain's central Province of Toledo.

The horrific video, which has shocked many online viewers starts with the baby bull - who does not even have fully-formed horns - already having two spears thrust into his back.

The jet-black bull looks frightened and panicked as he stumbles about and is already struggling to stand because of his injuries.

He has already lost so much blood that there is no real fight for the audience to see. Instead the crowd watches and cheers as the animal suffers a slow and painful death at the hand of his attackers.

Each time the bull falls down, the men antagonise it to break through his pain barrier and get up and charge again at the participants, who stab it repeatedly with long swords.

At one point, the bull is completely pierced by a sword and soon collapses moments later. He can do little to stop his attackers, and appears to no longer have the energy or will to fight back.

The men approach the poor animal - who at this point has a chain around his horns to keep him in place - and deliver a fatal stab to his neck before hacking off his ears. It is unclear at this point whether he is still alive and the crowd applaud the 'brave' participants for the spectacle.

The Animal Rights Party (PACMA) association said that is was "sadly accustomed" to seeing images like these, where bulls are subjected to "atrocious suffering."

PACMA president Silvia Barquero said that this is one of the "cruellest" festivities in Spain.

She said: "The team that has had to make this video have had their hearts broken while working with these images.

"Although we are used to facing these kinds of acts, we were completely unable to hold back the tears, we will never forget it."

Barquero said that they have received a lot of support after the video was released, adding: "We have realised these last few hours that now more than ever the populace is rejecting any form of animal abuse and becoming more aware."

The local council responded by saying that "the activities were supervised by a veterinarian and governmental authorities."

They added that the traditional festivities have been approved by the local government and denounced the "insults and threats to local residents."

They also criticised PACMA saying that there were "serious manipulations of the images taken at the event" which have resulted in "the creation of a video that does not reflect the essence of the popular festivities."

They also claimed that bullfighting is part of Spain's patrimonial heritage and have asked for others to respect their freedom to celebrate it.

They added without giving any further explanation that "in future occasions we will take measures to guarantee that the activities can be carried out without offending certain people's sensitivities."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/baby-bull-still-drinking-mothers-8710942

Ok, before I fly into a murderous rage, a question to celedhring and TheLarch - could you explain if people involved in this are being prosecuted, and if not, why?

[The Brain]

Wasn't this just kosher slaughter?

[CountDeMoney]

Those greaseball eggplants just love that shit.

[Hamilcar]

They should fight each other. Gladiatorial combat is even deeper in their heritage. 

[Duque de Bragança]

Is that even legal, be it in Spain or at the regional level (Castilla La Mancha)?

Comte de Largent

Italians don't do bull fighting.

[The Larch]

I have no idea which are the regulations on this kind of shows but apparently it was all legal. The town council of that place (which sound like a bunch of blowhards from the tone of their PR after this came to light) is even lthreatening the activists that brought it up with legal action for besmirching their honour or somesuch. These kind of events are a fucking disgrace that still plagues a lot of places in rural Spain. The situation is slowly changing, though, but this can't come quick enough. Possibly the most infamous of these kind of events, the "Toro de la Vega" in Tordesillas (of Europa Universalis fame because of the treaty), in which a bull is speared to death by villagers on foot and on horseback in the outskirts of the town, won't be held as such this year for the first time because the regional government banned the killing of animals in public, so the festival will be replaced with a bloodless version.

This summer there were some places that went with "alternative" events to replace the ones criticized in the past. Some village in Zaragoza put led lights on a bull's horns instead of the traditional torches, but this didn't appease neither animal rights activists or the supporters of these kind of events. Some villages have replaced these last few years, don't know if fully or partially, their "encierros" with shows done by inflatable bulls running through their streets instead of real bulls, and apparently kids love them.

The bull with the led lights:



The inflatable bulls:

[Martinus]

I am glad it is changing. Is there anything foreigners can do to help? I mean, I go to the Canaries each year but it's not like the people there do this stuff. Should I boycott? Write somewhere?

[CountDeMoney]

Plenty of international activist orgs that deal with that sort of thing, and could use money for awareness, education and lobbying efforts.  It has been working;  bloodfeasts are still popular, but increasingly facing political pressure.

[citizen k]

Mediterranean types like their bull sports.

[Duque de Bragança]

I am glad it is changing. Is there anything foreigners can do to help? I mean, I go to the Canaries each year but it's not like the people there do this stuff. Should I boycott? Write somewhere?

More than that, the Canaries were the first region to ban it bullfighting in Spain.

[The Larch]

I doubt that international pressure would help, these are our version of rednecks we're talking about, you are not going to convince them to change their ways and abandon their traditions, as gruesome as they are, by acting from abroad. It is something that, hopefully, will disappear over time, but it will take a while. These kind of festivals and bullfighting have been on the retreat for decades.

[The Larch]

I am glad it is changing. Is there anything foreigners can do to help? I mean, I go to the Canaries each year but it's not like the people there do this stuff. Should I boycott? Write somewhere?

More than that, the Canaries were the first region to ban it bullfighting in Spain.

Yet they allow cockfighting. 

[HVC]

I am glad it is changing. Is there anything foreigners can do to help? I mean, I go to the Canaries each year but it's not like the people there do this stuff. Should I boycott? Write somewhere?

More than that, the Canaries were the first region to ban it bullfighting in Spain.

Yet they allow cockfighting. 

why do you think Marti visits every year? Oh wait, you meant with the chickens, never mind

[Ed Anger]

Marti has cockfights every Friday and Saturday night.

[Duque de Bragança]

I am glad it is changing. Is there anything foreigners can do to help? I mean, I go to the Canaries each year but it's not like the people there do this stuff. Should I boycott? Write somewhere?

More than that, the Canaries were the first region to ban it bullfighting in Spain.

Yet they allow cockfighting. 

It's Spain anyways, they don't moderation there. 

The anti-bullfighting people are actually worse for me than the pro-corrida rednecks though those rural corridas, heavily tilted if not outright rigged against the bull or baby bull are awful.
But then it makes for easy mocking of the Spaniards, I can see the attraction.  There used to be a Spanish village which would throw a donkey from a bell tower IIRC. I believe they stopped but that village is no longer (in)famous.
Not to mention the anti-bullfighting lump everything bull fighting with the worse Spain has to offer about it.

Mind you, bull fighting is not really popular in Northern Portugal (or Galicia I believe ) but most people don't care or only watch a bit of the forcados on TV. This last discipline was seen on a James Bond for the mandatory exotic practice in the '60s.

PS: achega de touros (bulls fighting bulls) is more popular though in Bragança and the region. Not even Catalonia banned it, to give a Spanish example.