Suffering and cruelty.
* The bullfighting sector has repeatedly attempted to deny the bull’s suffering by resorting to scientific studies which can support this hypothetical theory. A study carried out and endorsed by the veterinarian, Dr. Illera appeared in a bullfighting publication and different mass media channels with this objective.
* The aforementioned study has not been published in a complete form in any scientific magazine, consequently it is only possible to access these conclusions provided by the author himself. Consequently, it lacks scientific rigor.
* Based on what has been published, we observe data which appears to be incorrect based on scientific evidence, clinical practice, and common sense.
* The study runs the risk of not being valid due to a series of methodological problems which should have been classified earlier and above all, it is necessary to notify the mass media channels with large-scale communication in order to prevent this message from being incorrectly interpreted or voluntarily mistaken. In relation to the pain which bulls suffer and their capacity to feel it, all the specialists who attended the Conference coincide on the following points from their respective disciplines and specialities in medicine, veterinary science, and ethology (animal behaviour):
* Pain is a defence mechanism which makes it possible for a living being to escape when its integrity is in danger. It has been demonstrated- that all living beings – with the possibility of movement- feel some form of pain although not all animals suffer pain in the same way.
* It has also been demonstrated that mammals suffer pain in a very similar way and many of the pain transmission mechanisms are similar for human beings and higher mammals.
* Investigations have shown that bullfights are much more stressful and painful for the animals than a death induced by humanitarian methods.
* Biology has always chosen the actions which permit the survival of the specie. When facing an intense pain, it feels pain, never pleasure, because the animal must flee from danger.
* In a scientific scope, it is never possible to consider the endomorphines level as equal to the analgesia level.
* The scientific data on bullfights coincides with the criteria that the bulls suffer intense pain and considerable stress during the bullfight. A process which is prolonged approximately 20 minutes.
* There are many diverse causes of stress and suffering. These causes include a completely foreign and unknown environment, exhaustion, multiple injuries, and a prolonged intentional death. The lance causes 1 to 3 wounds and based on the study carried out in 1999 on 90 bulls, 94% of the times, the picador was mistaken and may have caused fractures of the “spinous apophysis, fractures in the ribs and haemorrhages which could be infiltrated in the medular canal”. The average depth of each lance wound is between 18-20 centimetres, the total would amount to 62 centimetres of wounds and blood loss equivalent to 2.5 litres. The “banderillas” (pointed spikes) produce more injuries, pain, and exhaustion. The “estocada” or death blow, in the case that is done correctly, can be compared with a sacrifice within a slaughterhouse although in poor conditions, however when the bullfighter does not succeed in the first blow, the process can be prolonged and repeated in a consecutive way for several minutes longer.
* The bull also suffers fear, anguish, and anxiety during the transport and transfer to the bullring.
* Before and during the bullfight, many bulls suffer other types of traumatisms and manipulations that are painful, stressful, or which alter their normal conduct. They include the process of manipulation of their horn tips (“shaved”), blows, and shocks as well as other injuries of diverse kinds which are difficult to quantify.
* The horse is another one of the victims in this entire torture process.
* Veterinarians as well as the medical profession should possess an Ethical Code which allows them to object based on their conscience as a response to all the pressures and irregularities, as well as their rejection, to the cruel process which takes place during a bullfight.
Leiam o resto aqui, se quiserem:
International Anti-bullfighting Conference Conclusions — The Bull Tribune
Os apoiantes das touradas estão, como os apoiantes de outros manifestações culturais felizmente abandonadas ou ilegalizadas, do lado errado da História...
A inferioridade da mulher em relação ao homem, tortura como legítimo meio de procurar a verdade num processo, direito divino na passagem hereditária do poder nas mãos de uma família, jogos circenses entre homens e animais, escravatura, etc. Tudo manifestações dentro de uma determinada cultura, durante um certo período.
Tudo manifestações culturais que foram extintas com grande dificuldade, pois tinham muitos apoiantes, que só viam o seu "valor de tradição", ficando cegos para o carácter revoltante e desumano das mesmas.
As touradas estão na mesma situação: uma práctica bárbara que tem os seus dias contados, em qualquer nação que se queira julgar civilizada.
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