Javier Ortiz speaks out against the cruelty of bullfighting

Spanish journalist Javier Ortiz gives his reasons for opposing bullfights. "How can we see what goes on and only retain the beauty of the passes made with the cape, the precision of the 'puya' [wooden spear], the placement of the banderillas or the quality of the deathblow. ... To make an abstraction of the bloody aspects of the show and the beast's cries of pain signifies a worrying lapse of sensitivity... . 'The beasts have no better moment in the abattoir' respond the fans of bullfighting, laughing at those who criticise the activity. I don't know how they calculate the pain felt at an abattoir. But I do know that it's one thing to kill to eat and survive - a behaviour that we find among all animals - and it's quite another to kill for amusement. Without even mentioning that people pay to watch suffering and death."

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