Those who believe that Europe is out of the Dark Ages need to think again, not forgetting the horrors inflicted on animals even in the 21st-century Europe, like it would have been in a world where man was little more than a beast in his attitude and action. While animals suffer horribly in many parts of the continent, particularly Eastern Europe, there is no place like an earthly hell than Spain when it comes to bulls. Beside the of bullfighting in which abused bulls are regularly tortured in a false cover of “fighting”, the country is host to another bloody practice, considered a “sport” and part of the culture—the El Toro de la Vega.
Called by some the Shame of Spain, this day of torture for bulls is celebrated in Spain each year in the second week of September in the town of Tordesillas. A bull is released into the countryside and dozens of townsfolk chase it, shouting in excitement as they stab the bull and pierce him with spears. When the bull succumbs to the mob’s torture, and falls down out of exhaustion and wounds, his tail and testicles are cut and held proudly as trophies. The bull, if still alive, is then slaughtered while the City Council of Tordesillas awards a prize to the one displaying the “trophies”.
Animal slaughter, even under the pretext of getting “nutritious food”, is subject to questioning and condemnation. This kind of torture of animals, covered as a cultural/traditional heritage, is the worst a generation can pass to its descendents. Those who understand and care are now raising a voice against the El Toro de la Vega day. An online petition is seeking voice to join its cause of putting an end to the utterly cruel treatment of bulls in this Spanish horror of a cultural show. Hopefully, this part of Europe will come out of the Dark Ages before another generation is corrupted with the culture of torture.
No comments:
Post a Comment