Bullfighting aficionados claim that the bullfight is a battle to the death in which either participant, bull or matador may die. In reality, before the match even starts, the bull doesn't have a fighting chance to win.

Before the fight begins, bulls languish in pens that lack sunlight, food, and water. They are commonly fed laxatives or drugs to debilitate them. In fact, scientists from Spain's Salamanca University found that one in five bulls had been given anti-inflammatory drugs, which could disguise injuries that could weaken the animals' strength prior to fighting.⁽¹⁾ They are also stabbed in the backs before release into the arena.

A traditional bullfight consists of three stages. During the first stage, picadors, men atop heavily padded, blindfolded horses, approach the bull and drive pics into his neck muscles to begin the flow of blood to weaken the bull.⁽²⁾ The banderillos come next, working on foot to place "their banderillas (brightly adorned, barbed sticks) in the bull's shoulders in order to lower its head for the eventual kill."⁽³⁾ The blades of these spears continue to move and dig into the bull's back throughout the fight, causing bleeding and tissue damage. The bull may also suffer internal bleeding.

After the bull has been sufficiently weakened and his movements slowed, the matador enters to "fight" the animals. After dancing with the bull and taunting him for several minutes, in an effort to excite the crowd, the matador attempts a kill. The goal for a clean kill is to plunge the sword between the bull's withers into the aorta.⁽³⁾ However, it is not uncommon for the matador to miss, causing further torment until finally an executioner is called in to finish him off. As the Tim Stellar reported in the Arizona Daily Star, "the first bull was the worst even from an aficionado's perspective. Matador Miguel de la Hoz labored to get the bull's attention at times, then thrust his sword into the bull four times before striking a killing blow… First, a ring assistant cut the bull's spinal cord to paralyze him. In fact, the bull flopped even as he was being tied to two horses that pulled him out of the ring."⁽⁴⁾ Often, the bull remains conscious, even as his ears are carved off for distribution as trophies.

While bullfights occur primarily in Mexico, Spain, and South America, U.S. and European tourists are largely to blame for the support of this institution. The prevalence of tourists at these events encourages bullfights to occur with greater frequency than they otherwise would. To voice your opposition to bullfighting, write to the Mexican and Spanish Embassies and ask that they ban this cruel practice.

Write to:

Embassy of Spain
2375 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20037

Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20006

Cock Fighting

The practice of cock fighting, though illegal in 49 states, is a tradition that goes back several centuries, and thus is difficult to stamp out. Cockfights, like other illegal animal fights, take place surreptitiously.

Birds raised for fighting are tormented to make them aggressive and pumped full of stimulants to increase endurance.⁽⁵⁾ Cockfighting journals - such as The Gamecock, The Feather Warrior, and Grit & Steel - contain advertisements promoting stimulants, hormones, and blood-clotting drugs. According to the Oklahoma Coalition Against Cockfighting, "strychnine is one of the most popular stimulants. It and other drugs give birds a "boost" despite multiple puncture wounds or knife wounds."⁽⁶⁾

Cockfights usually result in the death of one, if not both roosters. Handlers place two roosters in a pit. The roosters have knives or sharp steel projections called gaffs, attached to their legs. The birds peck and maim one another with their beaks and the weapons. The pit allows roosters no opportunity to escape. Although they have been bred to fight, the animals often become tired, incapable, and suffer severe injuries. On banning cockfighting in his state, Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating said, "Cockfighting is cruel, it promotes illegal gambling and it is simply embarrassing to Oklahoma to be seen as one of only a tiny handful of locations outside of the third world where this activity is legal."⁽⁶⁾ Spectators viewing the fights bet large sums of money. The handler of a winning rooster often makes a big profit.

Although birds in a flock will often fight to establish a pecking order, these battles rarely result in injury. Only birds that have been bred and provoked to fight will inflict the serious injuries seen in cock fighting. Children often witness this cruel spectacle. Because adults bring children to fights as a form of cultural initiation, kids may come away from fights with insensitivity to violence against animals.

While the United States has a long tradition of cock fighting, as do several Asian cultures, we now recognize that it is unacceptable to continue such archaic forms of entertainment. You can help by writing to the governors of Louisiana and New Mexico to ask that they curb this cruel practice for good.

Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004
Fax: 225-342-7099

Office of the Governor
State Capitol, Room 400
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Dog Fighting

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have banned dog fighting and it is a felony offense in 47.⁽⁷⁾ Illegal dog fighting, however, remains a pervasive if hidden practice in many cities. Trainers prepare a dog to fight by imposing a cruel regimen on the dog from the beginning of his life. Dog fighters starve the animals in order to make them mean, beat them to make them tough, place heavy chains around their necks to increase muscle mass, and force them to run on treadmills or to endure other exhausting exercise for long periods of time.⁽⁸⁾

In order to foster the viciousness of dogs, trainers bait them with puppies, cats, and other small animals. "Bait dogs include small Labrador retrievers, German shepherds or mixed breeds and are often cut or stabbed and tossed in with the larger fighting dogs."⁽⁸⁾ These dogs, having been beaten and deprived, maul the small animals to death.

In dogfights themselves, dogs are forced to fight with severe injuries, often until one or more dogs are dead. Spectators force dogs to continue fighting by prodding and hitting them with sharp objects.

Trainers favor pit bulls over other dogs because pit bulls have strong jaws. Well-treated and humanely raised pit bulls are affectionate and loyal dogs. To the surprise of many people, they are also good with children. Only pit bulls bred and trained to fight become violent and dangerous animals.

Those in the profession of dog fighting over-breed pit bulls, contributing to the large number of animals languishing in shelters throughout the country. Shelters euthanize many of these dogs because homes cannot be found for them.

Cruelty to animals is a precursor to violence against humans. Please report any knowledge of dog fighting or other animal fighting to authorities.