European public funding for the Spanish bullfight. To denounce it is the LAV that with a new terrible investigation has rekindled the debate
European public funding for the Spanish bullfight. This was denounced by LAV, which with a new terrible investigation has rekindled the debate, never dormant, on health security and on this "show", if it can be defined as such, also financed with EU public money.
As the Anti-Vivisection League points out, if the injuries, mistreatment and killings of bulls were not enough to put an end to this authorized violence, a recent international video investigation carried out by the LAV Investigation Unit highlighted how, in a moment of crisis such as that of the coronavirus, spending public money to finance the bullfight is "unsustainable".
For years disputed because it is contrary to ethics and the protection of animals as well as harmful, today more than ever, in the Covid-19 emergency, to ignore the health risks of the arenas where the blood of these animals flows
"Slaughtered on the spot in adjacent structures and with dubious standards of health safety is an irresponsible act" denounces the LAV.
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The new investigation
Between the end of September and the beginning of last October, the LAV Investigation Unit documented three shows - Algemesi, Seville and Madrid - discovering that the organizers receive funds from the European Community with other "gimmicks" and from local communities.
Of the shows filmed, in the two main Spanish arenas (Seville and Madrid), animals are violently killed, tortured and executed after a long agony:
“Others get badly injured from stress upon entering the arena. In several cases, entertainment puts the lives of those present in the arena at serious risk ”.
Furthermore, the video shows real violence on animals, in which the matador hits the bull with the estoque incorrectly, causing severe and slow bleeding, especially from the mouth with excruciating suffering and a slow suffocation of the animals.
“In different moments in which the animal has to suffer the 'coup de grace', the puntilla (dagger) is used several times, showing a very slow agony for the bulls involved,” LAV said.
What the investigators also filmed are bulls being transported out of the arena to the in-house slaughter facility. In several cases, the blood of the bulls left on the square was also filmed, in contact with the public entering and exiting the arena (in close contact with passers-by and in some cases even with children).
But to the horror is added another horror: according to what was discovered by the LAV, the meat of bulls killed in the arenas is sold in some local butchers and restaurants and transported out of the arenas without any sanitary criteria and in front of minors.
"Bullfighting is an unsustainable spectacle, contested for years because it is contrary to ethics and animal protection, uneducational yet also offered to minors even though 84% of young Spaniards disapprove of this show - says Roberto Bennati, LAV General Manager - Today more than ever, in the Covid-19 emergency, ignoring the health risks of arenas where the blood of these animals is sown, slaughtered on the spot in adjacent facilities and with dubious health safety standards is an irresponsible act.
Public funding and CAP
What the LAV refers to is the fact that bullfighting benefits from European public funding despite the contrary will of the EU Parliament: at the end of October 2015, in fact, the Parliament with 438 yes, 199 no and 50 abstentions, approved an amendment to the 2016 budget according to which
"Funds from the CAP (common agricultural policy, ed) should not be used, nor from any other line of European funding to economically support bullfighting activities that involve the death of the bull".
The CAP subsidies amount to 31,6% of the income for the breeding of animals for bullfighting. Real lifeblood, without which such manifestations could hardly take place.
The Bullfighting sector also receives funds from:
- National government;
- Regional governments;
– Consigli provinciali (Deputations);
- Municipalities, whose municipalities cover the costs of the holidays.
According to the LAV, it receives 571 million euros from the Spanish authorities and around 130 million from the European Union through the PACs.
"In this crucial moment of revision of the CAP, it is necessary to introduce a measure that provides for the interruption of the allocation of funds to farms that allocate their bulls for bullfighting" asks the LAV.
La Corrida, a show in crisis
It has been known for some time and a further confirmation has recently arrived: the Bullfight is in crisis. On 1 June 2020, the Ministry of Culture published new statistics on Bullfighting which confirm the long crisis. In 2019, the shows in the arenas decreased by 63,4% compared to 2007 but this does not reflect another data: since 2007 the herds of bulls destined for Corrida have increased from 1327 to 1339 also using PAC funds.
Even young Spaniards disapprove of bullfighting. A 2015 poll revealed that over 84% of them are not in favor of this "show".
“How can the European Union finance this horror? It is time to say enough: we urge the Commission and the EU Parliament to immediately suspend the disbursement of these public funds intended for agriculture and not for torture - continues Bennati - the dissemination of images and information on the situation of bullfights, fraud to PAC public funds and on the suffering of animals documented by the LAV Investigative Unit is carried out in collaboration with Animal Guardians and AVATMA Association of Veterinarians for the abolition of Bullfighting and animal abuse - which LAV thanks for completing and enriching this investigative work - - we hope that these images can help the Spanish associations in continuing their battle of civilization against this spectacle of suffering and cruelty towards animals. "
To read the full report click here
Sources of reference: LAV,
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