**TL;DR Bullfighting should be banned as it is abhorrently cruel towards the animals involved**. Animals are innocent, living creatures; it is immoral that we use them for our entertainment. In Spain, 7,000 bulls are killed every year in the bullfighting events. The way they are also killed is horrific, they are ‘pushed to extreme mental and physical exhaustion’ and then stabbed to death. The animals are doomed to death, it is not a fair fight, it is almost always inevitable that the affair will end up in the death of a bull. The word Matador (the person who kills the bull) literally means ‘killer’. They inflict so much unnecessary pain on the bull, such as using their weapon to sever the bull’s spinal cord. The Matador may also perform the gruesome act of cutting off the bull’s ears and/or tail to act as a trophy if they are particularly proud of that certain fight. These are atrocious acts. Bullfighting is also not just unique to Spain, it also takes place in Portugal, France, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and even parts of the United States. This is a global issue. There are a few certain bullfighting events that are particularly horrific. One includes the ‘Running of the Bulls’ event in San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain. A ‘terrifying mob’ of crowds chase after frightened bulls through the city. Ultimately, many of those bulls will later be killed in the bullring in the evening. Horses are even subject to this cruelty as the industry forces them to be a part of the spectacle. Bullfighting should be banned because animals are not here to entertain us; they are innocent beings and we should treat them with kindness and respect. WORKS CITED: ‘Bullfighting: A bloody execution’ https://www.peta.org.uk/issues/animals-not-use-entertainment/bullfighting/#:~:text=Bullfighting%3A%20A%20Bloody%20Execution&text=Every%20year%2C%20at%20least%207%2C000,slaughter%20of%20a%20helpless%20animal.

**TL;DR- Bullfighting is very cruel, causing pain and death to lovely innocent bulls for no reason other than the 'entertainment' of others. For this reason alone it should be banned, however there is another reason why this vicious blood-sport should be illegal everywhere: bullfighting can also harm the Matador.** As much as the Matador is aware of the pain they're causing an innocent beast, and the risk that they themselves are taking, they shouldn't be injured in the name of 'sport' either. Around 47 bullfights a year see either the picador or matador get injured [1], and in some cases, the Matador also dies as a result of fight injuries. Human-animal studies professor, Garry Marvin states in *BBC News* that: > 'If a normal person got into the ring with a fighting bull, I'd expect them to be severely gored or dead in a few moments. Matadors are highly skilled, however, and may go several seasons without injury' [2]. As well as the Matador's 'skill' being absolutely nothing to be proud of (why take pride in brutally murdering an innocent creature?), this data just goes to show that bullfighting helps nobody. It's extremely dangerous and is not worth the risk for anyone. With the harm it causes to the bull and the way it could maim the matador, there is no valid reason to keep this archaic blood-sport legal. [1] Iwan Hopkins in *The Mancunion*, October 31, 2019 [https://mancunion.com/2019/10/31/opinion-bullfighting-should-be-banned/] [2] Garry Marvin in *BBC News*, May 22, 2014 [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27520374]

We must also look at it from the perspective of those who live in these regions. After all the Uk voted for Brexit. ( Bitter-sweet fact) This article in [Garage](https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/mbzpbp/celebrating-the-undeniable-passion-of-the-matador) presents arguments from both sides, what caught my eye was this. "Bullfighting is like liturgy, says Rubén Amón, who writes about el toreo for the newspaper El País. It reveals things hidden in society’s shadows, “what everyone wants to ban and hide,” he says—death, violence, and sacrifice." It made me ask what is it about bullfighting that we hate and how different is it from what happens in slaughterhouses every day, globally? Why don't we feel the same about the animals we fatten and slaughter for food, after all an animal or animal(s) usually die...is it because we don't see it? What if we 'saw' how animals were treated, would we eat meat? The death, violence, and sacrifice would probably be too much for many of us to handle. Just go to [PETA](https://www.peta.org.uk/). I do think it's an oxymoron to be against bullfighting and a meat-eater, and there are some deep-seated issues that we all need to confront first. In other words, bullfighting is quite low in the list of priorities, let's tackle the meat industry first. My own perspective is that animals should not be harmed for the satisfaction of humans.