Coronavirus stops bullfights in Spain. Farmers, however, complain of the crisis and threaten to take the bulls to the slaughterhouse.
We had exulted when the coronavirus emergency had blocked the bullfights, unfortunately, however, no good news comes from Spain: the breeders complain of the crisis and threaten to take the bulls to the slaughterhouse. There is no peace for the bulls, who with or without the Covid-19 emergency remain victims: either brutally skewered during bullfights or taken to the slaughterhouse because without the income from the shows, it is difficult to keep them. While some Spanish cities, such as Madrid, have said goodbye to bullfights forever, in many others this 'tradition' continues to make dizzying numbers.
“The crisis came at the worst moment. We were expecting the first financial proceeds of the spring, but everything has stopped. We don't know what will happen, but we are very affected by the crisis, ”Victorino Martín, a breeder and president of the Fundación del Toro de Lidia, explains to El Pais.
For years the man has been breeding bulls which will then end up in the arena to fight against the matador. As we know, the European Parliament in 2015 was clear: no more bullfights financed with public money. For this reason now Martín, together with all the other farmers are complaining and asking the Ministry of Culture to negotiate aid to face the crisis, otherwise he says, many bulls will end up in slaughter.
We have been condemning bullfighting for years. A show that does not respect animal welfare and creates unnecessary suffering for the bulls both before and during. To be even more angry, the animals are isolated, blindfolded and close to the shows, not fed and quenched. Yet bullfights continue to sell out and patrons hide behind the fact that it is a tradition and must be respected.
Martín excludes the possibility that there will be no bullfights throughout 2020:
“I can't think about it because a year and a half without income would ruin many farmers and other economic sectors would suffer, such as hotels, restaurants or catering, transport. Bullfighting is not only a source of wealth in itself, it also generates a great parallel activity ”. He then talks about the slaughterhouses and the fate that the bulls could end up in. “The average price of a bull for slaughter is 700 €. There are already breeders who send bulls and cows to slaughter ”.
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The farmer has 5 bulls and is asking for external funding so that he can continue to feed them and pay the farm's staff. ”The five-year-old bulls would not be able to do the bullfight next year and another way out should be found. ". The slaughterhouse precisely because according to the law one cannot fight for more than five years. According to the breeder, keeping a bull costs XNUMX euros in total (for the entire life span of the animal). Everyone consumes seven kilos of food per day. “Only in food”, explains Victorino Martín, “without including work or health care”.
But if you think that the emergency could lead to reconversion, you are wrong because according to the farmer, on the contrary, the Ministry of Culture has already promised to assist in the bullfight.
“The minister called us by phone and we are sure he will assist us. It is a time of common sense, loyalty and waiting ”, she says again. Breeders are asking for both financial support and a reduction in VAT, the revision of the criteria for the contribution of professionals, the promotion of funding lines and the exemption from tax burdens. "We must start from the fact that it is the only cultural heritage that not only does not receive subsidies from general budgets, but also pays astronomical figures for the rent of state premises and that the public media ignore it despite being the second mass show in the country ”, he explains again.
All this, despite the fact that there has been a strong anti-bullfighting sentiment for years.
“The front is very powerful, but logic must be used and it says that as long as the Spaniards want bulls, their decision must be respected. If one day the party will be banned, society will have to reflect on the opportunity to accept censorship and the single thought ".
Of course, talking about censorship with reference to a show where animals are killed for fun seems very risky to us, as does the fact that the Ministry of Culture, instead of thinking about a reconversion, is taking a step back, feeding a market that does not think absolutely to the welfare of the bulls.
Source: The Country
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