Originally posted by MrXarvox
...In bullfighting, they torture the bull for the sole purpose of making it mad, then they kill it painfully.
You really have never been to a bullfight, have you ?
Okay, my question stands. Who here has been to a bullfight? For those of you who haven't, let me give you a bit of how it works. I'm neither condeming it or condoning it. I'm just trying to explain it. And, I must add, I'm hardly an expert, so if I get a few details wrong, please simply correct me, but in order to speak intelligenly about bullfighting, it helps to have some idea of what it's all about.
The bull is released into the arena. The Picador rides out on horseback and uses a spear. The bull charges the side of the horse, which is well armored, and the picador spears it in the neck. The purpose is to weaken the neck muscles so the head will be heald lower.
After the Picador, the bandarilleros enter and attach the bandarillos to the bull's neck. These are barbed wooden sticks that are decorated. I'm not 100% sure what their purpose is. There are 3 bandarilleros each with two bandarillos per bull.
Finally, the Matador enters the ring. He encourages the bull to charge the cape. There are a number of different manuevers used and different types of passes that the Matador attempts.
Once the bull is warn down, the Matador will use his sword to kill the bull. The objective is to insert the sword in the precise location to kill it instantly. That doesn't always happen and it is sometimes necessary to stab the bull multiple times, but that isn't the objective and a Matador that doesn't make a clean kill is likely to be booed.
So, the purpose of the "torture" is not to make the bull angry, but to make the Matador's job easier so that a clean kill may be made. Anyone who has ever seen the running of the bulls in Pamplona can tell you that the charging of the bull isn't so much from anger. In fact, the angry bulls in Pamplona are the ones that stay behind and don't want to follow the group. The people out in front of the bulls are in very little danger of being trampled since the bulls aren't really chasing them, and in almost no danger of being gored. The people behind the bulls need to be careful if one does get angry.
But I digress. I've had people tell me that the bull doesn't have nerve endings in that area and can't really feel it. I don't know if I buy that. Regardless, the stabbing of the bull does have a purpose.
The kill itself is not supposed to be painful. It is supposed to be quick and painless. If done properly, it is probably quicker than being bashed over the head.
Now, having said all of that, I have to say that there was something about the whole thing that was a bit disturbing. I'm sure I would feel the same way, or possibly even worse, if I saw cattle being slaughtered. Was the bull in pain? I don't know, but I don't think the bull would have been acting any differently if it hadn't been speared. It just would have been harder to make a clean kill.
Regardless, there is a lot more sport than you might imagine in bullfighting, but it is more in the sense of gymnastics than fencing, for example. It's not man vs. bull so much as the bull being a prop (maybe that's the part I find disturbing). Of course, the bull does often wound the man and the bull survives occasionally and is allowed to live out its life.
Anyway, form your own opinion, but make it an informed one.