On Friday we were in for a unique treat of traditional Spanish culture. A bull fight. Unknown to myself however there are 3 stages of bull fights... the last one with the matador is the only typically known of. First the bull is let loose into the arena; A man with a spear on a horse provokes the bull to charge the horse and then stabs the bull every time the bull comes near. After a certain amount of time young matadors who have not yet made a name for themselves enter the ring and take their chance with the bull; last the valiant head matador enters the ring and slays the bull.
What we watched on Friday was a different sort of bull fight. Our group took a 30 minute bus ride out to a ranch where the bulls and cattle are bred and raised. On this particular day the ranchers were testing out 4 different cows (female bulls?) to see the ferocity of their nature. The ones that had the right strength, anger, and endurance would be kept to breed with the head bull. A stallion of the cow world. The others would be slaughtered for meat. It was inhumane disgusting and I am no longer eating red meat. You could tell that the cows ( bulls?) did not want to be in the ring, they were tired angry bleeding and probably just wanted to go back to their pasture instead of being injured for sport. I know that it is a part of culture and should be appreciated but the way women are treated in Saudi Arabia is also "culture", and yet that doesn't make it any more right. These breeders argued that it was a classic case of "man vs. beast" yes I do not agree. In "man vs. beast" one lives, the other dies; it is a fair game. This was simply provoking an innocent animal and giving it pain for sport. Obviously I will never be a hunter... regardless I got some great shots and they are included above.
Adios!
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