Bullfighting

Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle primarily associated with Spain, where a matador engages in a ritualized contest with a bull, typically culminating in the animal's death. This sport, known as the Spanish-style corrida, features specific stages involving the matador’s skillful manipulation of a cape and the use of lances by picadors to weaken the bull before the final killing. Although deeply rooted in historical practices dating back to the Roman Empire and evolving significantly over the centuries, bullfighting is highly controversial. Critics, including animal rights advocates, argue that it constitutes animal cruelty, leading to bans in various regions, including parts of Spain and several other countries by 2024. Conversely, proponents assert that the bulls are well cared for and that the sport has cultural significance. While traditional corridas remain popular in some areas, attendance has dwindled, and alternative forms, such as bloodless bullfights, have emerged, emphasizing different interactions without animal deaths. The future of bullfighting continues to be debated, reflecting a complex intersection of cultural heritage, animal rights, and societal values.

Full Article

Bullfighting is a sport in which a human antagonizes a bull, often killing the bull ritualistically, or humans pit two bulls against one another. In the most famous form of bullfighting, the Spanish-style corrida, the fight progresses through a series of stages and almost always ends with the human killing the bull. Corrida contestants, known as matadors, are awarded more points for killing the bull in a quick, clean fashion. The sport, in all its forms, is controversial. Animal rights groups oppose bullfighting, especially corrida, which had been banned in parts of Spain and six other countries by 2024.

Background

Bullfights between humans and bulls can be traced back to the Roman Empire. Romans held gladiatorial games in which they pitted gladiators against vicious beasts. Both enslaved people and trained soldiers fought lions, tigers, and other exotic animals for the amusement of thousands of spectators. Other roots of the European practice can be traced to bull-vaulting competitions in ancient Crete and religious sacrifices of bulls throughout the Mediterranean region.

The bullfighting legacy of Spain and Portugal began in earnest, however, in 711 CE, when the invading Moors brought horses into the tradition. Armed and armored nobles rode specially trained horses around the enraged animals, slaughtering them for the amusement of the crowd. By the 1500s, however, bullfighting fell out of favor with the Spanish monarchs and then its nobility, who considered the game to be socially beneath them.

Bullfighting continued to be practiced by the lower classes, however. As the lower classes were not typically able to afford horses, the art of baiting and dodging the bull on foot was created. By the late eighteenth century, bullfighting was recognizable in its modern form. It has changed little from that time.

Bullfights in which humans pit two bulls against one another also have long histories in other regions, including Asia, East Africa, and the Balkans. For instance, the South Korean tradition dates back about two millennia, while those of the Luhya people in Kenya and Japan are several centuries old. In these traditions, the bulls generally survive their matches to compete again.

Overview

Bullfights between humans and bulls are a southern European tradition and are the best-known form of bullfighting. Though controversial, they are still practiced from spring through autumn throughout much of Spain, as well as parts of southern France and Portugal. According to the Humane Society International (HSI), they also take place in Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, all of which are former colonies of Spain.

Corrida bullfights are conducted by a daring bullfighter called a matador. A matador may be male or female, though historically the sport has been male-dominated. Throughout the fight, the matador must adhere to a strict set of rules. A skilled matador shows neither fear nor pain, even when injured. This is all meant to enhance the show for the audience.

Corrida bullfights unfold through a series of traditional steps. Many bullfights are usually performed in a single day, with several matadors each conducting multiple fights. They begin with the opening parade. During this segment, the bullfighters march around the arena. The crowd cheers for their favorite fighters, and announcers do their best to further excite the spectators. The matadors then all leave the arena, except the matador, who will be the first to fight.

Once the bull is released into the ring, the corrida enters the cape stage. The matador waves a large, brightly colored cape in circles. He or she uses it to taunt the bull into attacking, displaying its speed and strength. The matador remains still until the bull is just inches away from them, and then gracefully moves out of the way of its horns. The point is to come as close as possible to being gored without being touched. This dangerous game raises dramatic tension, engaging the audience in the fight.

The next part of a corrida bullfight is called the picador stage. During this stage, horse riders armed with lances ride out into the arena. They bait the bull into charging and then ride around it while piercing the animal with their weapons. The wounds inflicted by the lances are not lethal to the animal. Instead, they are intended to both enrage and weaken the bull. Toward the end of the picador stage, several colorfully dressed men rush into the arena. They throw long, metal darts toward the bull's shoulders, back, and neck. The darts are often attached to brightly colored feathers, so the audience can see them. These wounds force the bull to lower its head, exposing its vulnerable shoulders and back to the matador.

The last stage of a corrida bullfight is called the killing stage. The matador re-emerges into the arena, wielding a long, thin sword and a much smaller cape. At this point in the show, the bull is tired, injured, and thoroughly enraged. The matador uses the smaller cape to draw the desperate bull closer, encouraging it to charge and increasing the personal danger. The bull often attempts to attack the matador.

Once the matador has successfully demonstrated his mastery over the animal, he or she attempts to slay it. The matador baits the bull into one final charge. As the matador sidesteps the attack, the matador drives the sword between the animal's shoulders. If done correctly, this quickly incapacitates the bull. If done incorrectly, the bull's death is slow and painful. The matador is awarded more points for a clean kill than a sloppy kill. If the bull's death is particularly slow, the fight is considered shameful for the matador. Meat from the animal is typically distributed to restaurants and butcher shops after the event; historically, it provided the basis of a feast.

Despite its rich history, the popularity of corrida bullfighting has declined over the centuries. Arenas that had been packed with crowds for more than a century struggled to fill just a third of their capacity by the late 2010s. The COVID-19 pandemic of the early 2020s also threatened to eliminate the industry, as public gatherings were prohibited in many places as a public health measure.

In many “bloodless bullfights,” the goal is for the human to remove a ribbon or flower attached to the animal or for the animal to attack the human antagonist instead of the human killing the bull. Sometimes, a horned cow is used instead of a bull. Bloodless bullfights are staged in parts of the United States, France, and Costa Rica.

Many opponents consider bullfighting, and corrida in particular, a form of animal abuse. Animal rights activists argue that the sport is unnecessarily cruel to the animals. They protest bullfighting's use of the term “fight” for a corrida, as the bull is rarely allowed to survive its encounter. Instead, they contend that the display is a ritualistic killing performed for the amusement of the crowd. South Korean activists have also opposed bullfights between bulls because of the arduous training conditions they endure. Other bullfighting opponents base their objection on the human spectators, and children in particular, being exposed to violence.

Proponents of corrida bullfighting argue that the animal is pampered before its death in the arena. It is allowed to happily graze and breed, furthering bloodlines of large, strong, hyper-aggressive bulls. Additionally, proponents of bullfighting argue that fighting bulls are allowed to live several years longer than bulls sent to slaughter.

Bullfighting was prohibited in Spain's Canary Islands in 1991. Catalonia, a semiautonomous region in northeastern Spain, banned bullfighting in 2010. The Catalan government contended that the practice is overly cruel to the animals and holds little to no cultural value to its people. However, Spain's constitutional court overturned the Catalan ban in 2016. Certain major cities have attempted to discourage the practice, however, and the Balearic Islands imposed restrictions in 2017. Other legislation has targeted government subsidies to the industry. In 2023, Spain banned bullfighting by people with dwarfism, a comedic tradition since the 1930s. Disability rights groups heralded the move, which they saw as ending a degrading, mocking spectacle, but bullfighters with dwarfism called bombero toreros protested the threat to their livelihood as entertainers.

By the 2020s, the governments of Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Italy, and the UK had outlawed bullfighting. Mexico's Supreme Court reversed that country's 2022 nationwide ban in 2023, though local bans remained in several states. Colombia signed a bill and banned bullfighting in 2024. Bans have also been considered in Portugal and France.


Bibliography

“Backlash Erupts over Bid to Designate Bullfighting as Cultural Heritage.” Korea Times, 12 Mar. 2024, www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/03/113_370481.html. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.‌

Benavides, Lucía. “The Eating of the Bulls: From the Spanish Fighting Ring to the Plate.” NPR, Aug. 2019, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/08/01/746659693/the-eating-of-the-bulls-from-the-spanish-fighting-ring-to-the-plate. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

“The Bull.” Aficionados International, 2011, www.aficionados-international.com/general-information/the-spanish-fighting-bull. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

“Bullfighting.” Humane Society International, www.hsi.org/news-resources/bullfighting. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

Burgen, Stephen. “Quiet Corridas: Spain Wonders What to Do with Unused Bullrings.” The Guardian, 21 Aug. 2022, www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/21/spain-wonders-what-to-do-with-unused-bullrings. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Chiteyi, Larry Iswekha, et al. “A History of the Isukha-Idakho Bullfighting in Western Kenya.” African Journal of Empirical Research, vol. 4, no. 2, 2023, pp. 1011–18, https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.4.2.103. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.‌

Conrad, Barnaby. “Bullfighting.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 3 Feb. 2024, www.britannica.com/sports/bullfighting. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Green, Emily. “Mexico’s Female Matadors Return to the World’s Largest Bullring.” All Things Considered, NPR, 9 Mar. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/03/09/1236728490/mexico-bullfighting-women-bullfighters. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Horowitz, Jason. “On the Front Line of a War over Bullfighting Traditions.” The New York Times, 12 July 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/world/europe/spain-bullfights.html. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

“Japan Bullfighting: Women Allowed into ‘Pure’ Ring after Ban Lifted.” BBC News, 5 May 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44015286. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Kimmelman, Michael. “Bullfighting Is Dead! Long Live the Bullfight!” The New York Times, 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/sports/playmagazine/601bullfight.html. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Pozzebon, Stefano, et al. "Colombia’s Parliament Has Banned Bullfighting - Leaving Just Seven Nations That Still Permit It." CNN, 28 May 2024, www.cnn.com/2024/05/28/americas/colombia-bullfight-ban-bill-passed-intl-hnk. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

“Spain’s Balearic Islands Vote to Outlaw Killing Bulls at Fights.” Reuters, 24 July 2017, www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1A92BH. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.‌

Symons, Angela. “Bullfighting Could Soon Be Outlawed in Colombia.” Euronews, 21 Mar. 2023, www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/21/where-is-bullfighting-still-legal-colombia-ban-sheds-light-on-europes-divided-opinion. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Thyberg, David. “Information on Bullfighting in Spain.” USA Today, 2017, traveltips.usatoday.com/information-bullfighting-spain-3422.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

“Why Spanish Bulls Are Now Deadlier.” The Economist, 2017, www.economist.com/news/europe/21661820-austerity-and-thrill-seeking-are-undermining-ancient-tradition-why-spanish-bulls-are-now. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Full Article

Bullfighting is a sport in which a human antagonizes a bull, often killing the bull ritualistically, or humans pit two bulls against one another. In the most famous form of bullfighting, the Spanish-style corrida, the fight progresses through a series of stages and almost always ends with the human killing the bull. Corrida contestants, known as matadors, are awarded more points for killing the bull in a quick, clean fashion. The sport, in all its forms, is controversial. Animal rights groups oppose bullfighting, especially corrida, which had been banned in parts of Spain and six other countries by 2024.

Background

Bullfights between humans and bulls can be traced back to the Roman Empire. Romans held gladiatorial games in which they pitted gladiators against vicious beasts. Both enslaved people and trained soldiers fought lions, tigers, and other exotic animals for the amusement of thousands of spectators. Other roots of the European practice can be traced to bull-vaulting competitions in ancient Crete and religious sacrifices of bulls throughout the Mediterranean region.

The bullfighting legacy of Spain and Portugal began in earnest, however, in 711 CE, when the invading Moors brought horses into the tradition. Armed and armored nobles rode specially trained horses around the enraged animals, slaughtering them for the amusement of the crowd. By the 1500s, however, bullfighting fell out of favor with the Spanish monarchs and then its nobility, who considered the game to be socially beneath them.

Bullfighting continued to be practiced by the lower classes, however. As the lower classes were not typically able to afford horses, the art of baiting and dodging the bull on foot was created. By the late eighteenth century, bullfighting was recognizable in its modern form. It has changed little from that time.

Bullfights in which humans pit two bulls against one another also have long histories in other regions, including Asia, East Africa, and the Balkans. For instance, the South Korean tradition dates back about two millennia, while those of the Luhya people in Kenya and Japan are several centuries old. In these traditions, the bulls generally survive their matches to compete again.

Overview

Bullfights between humans and bulls are a southern European tradition and are the best-known form of bullfighting. Though controversial, they are still practiced from spring through autumn throughout much of Spain, as well as parts of southern France and Portugal. According to the Humane Society International (HSI), they also take place in Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, all of which are former colonies of Spain.

Corrida bullfights are conducted by a daring bullfighter called a matador. A matador may be male or female, though historically the sport has been male-dominated. Throughout the fight, the matador must adhere to a strict set of rules. A skilled matador shows neither fear nor pain, even when injured. This is all meant to enhance the show for the audience.

Corrida bullfights unfold through a series of traditional steps. Many bullfights are usually performed in a single day, with several matadors each conducting multiple fights. They begin with the opening parade. During this segment, the bullfighters march around the arena. The crowd cheers for their favorite fighters, and announcers do their best to further excite the spectators. The matadors then all leave the arena, except the matador, who will be the first to fight.

Once the bull is released into the ring, the corrida enters the cape stage. The matador waves a large, brightly colored cape in circles. He or she uses it to taunt the bull into attacking, displaying its speed and strength. The matador remains still until the bull is just inches away from them, and then gracefully moves out of the way of its horns. The point is to come as close as possible to being gored without being touched. This dangerous game raises dramatic tension, engaging the audience in the fight.

The next part of a corrida bullfight is called the picador stage. During this stage, horse riders armed with lances ride out into the arena. They bait the bull into charging and then ride around it while piercing the animal with their weapons. The wounds inflicted by the lances are not lethal to the animal. Instead, they are intended to both enrage and weaken the bull. Toward the end of the picador stage, several colorfully dressed men rush into the arena. They throw long, metal darts toward the bull's shoulders, back, and neck. The darts are often attached to brightly colored feathers, so the audience can see them. These wounds force the bull to lower its head, exposing its vulnerable shoulders and back to the matador.

The last stage of a corrida bullfight is called the killing stage. The matador re-emerges into the arena, wielding a long, thin sword and a much smaller cape. At this point in the show, the bull is tired, injured, and thoroughly enraged. The matador uses the smaller cape to draw the desperate bull closer, encouraging it to charge and increasing the personal danger. The bull often attempts to attack the matador.

Once the matador has successfully demonstrated his mastery over the animal, he or she attempts to slay it. The matador baits the bull into one final charge. As the matador sidesteps the attack, the matador drives the sword between the animal's shoulders. If done correctly, this quickly incapacitates the bull. If done incorrectly, the bull's death is slow and painful. The matador is awarded more points for a clean kill than a sloppy kill. If the bull's death is particularly slow, the fight is considered shameful for the matador. Meat from the animal is typically distributed to restaurants and butcher shops after the event; historically, it provided the basis of a feast.

Despite its rich history, the popularity of corrida bullfighting has declined over the centuries. Arenas that had been packed with crowds for more than a century struggled to fill just a third of their capacity by the late 2010s. The COVID-19 pandemic of the early 2020s also threatened to eliminate the industry, as public gatherings were prohibited in many places as a public health measure.

In many “bloodless bullfights,” the goal is for the human to remove a ribbon or flower attached to the animal or for the animal to attack the human antagonist instead of the human killing the bull. Sometimes, a horned cow is used instead of a bull. Bloodless bullfights are staged in parts of the United States, France, and Costa Rica.

Many opponents consider bullfighting, and corrida in particular, a form of animal abuse. Animal rights activists argue that the sport is unnecessarily cruel to the animals. They protest bullfighting's use of the term “fight” for a corrida, as the bull is rarely allowed to survive its encounter. Instead, they contend that the display is a ritualistic killing performed for the amusement of the crowd. South Korean activists have also opposed bullfights between bulls because of the arduous training conditions they endure. Other bullfighting opponents base their objection on the human spectators, and children in particular, being exposed to violence.

Proponents of corrida bullfighting argue that the animal is pampered before its death in the arena. It is allowed to happily graze and breed, furthering bloodlines of large, strong, hyper-aggressive bulls. Additionally, proponents of bullfighting argue that fighting bulls are allowed to live several years longer than bulls sent to slaughter.

Bullfighting was prohibited in Spain's Canary Islands in 1991. Catalonia, a semiautonomous region in northeastern Spain, banned bullfighting in 2010. The Catalan government contended that the practice is overly cruel to the animals and holds little to no cultural value to its people. However, Spain's constitutional court overturned the Catalan ban in 2016. Certain major cities have attempted to discourage the practice, however, and the Balearic Islands imposed restrictions in 2017. Other legislation has targeted government subsidies to the industry. In 2023, Spain banned bullfighting by people with dwarfism, a comedic tradition since the 1930s. Disability rights groups heralded the move, which they saw as ending a degrading, mocking spectacle, but bullfighters with dwarfism called bombero toreros protested the threat to their livelihood as entertainers.

By the 2020s, the governments of Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Italy, and the UK had outlawed bullfighting. Mexico's Supreme Court reversed that country's 2022 nationwide ban in 2023, though local bans remained in several states. Colombia signed a bill and banned bullfighting in 2024. Bans have also been considered in Portugal and France.


Bibliography

“Backlash Erupts over Bid to Designate Bullfighting as Cultural Heritage.” Korea Times, 12 Mar. 2024, www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/03/113_370481.html. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.‌

Benavides, Lucía. “The Eating of the Bulls: From the Spanish Fighting Ring to the Plate.” NPR, Aug. 2019, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/08/01/746659693/the-eating-of-the-bulls-from-the-spanish-fighting-ring-to-the-plate. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

“The Bull.” Aficionados International, 2011, www.aficionados-international.com/general-information/the-spanish-fighting-bull. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

“Bullfighting.” Humane Society International, www.hsi.org/news-resources/bullfighting. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

Burgen, Stephen. “Quiet Corridas: Spain Wonders What to Do with Unused Bullrings.” The Guardian, 21 Aug. 2022, www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/21/spain-wonders-what-to-do-with-unused-bullrings. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Chiteyi, Larry Iswekha, et al. “A History of the Isukha-Idakho Bullfighting in Western Kenya.” African Journal of Empirical Research, vol. 4, no. 2, 2023, pp. 1011–18, https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.4.2.103. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.‌

Conrad, Barnaby. “Bullfighting.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 3 Feb. 2024, www.britannica.com/sports/bullfighting. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Green, Emily. “Mexico’s Female Matadors Return to the World’s Largest Bullring.” All Things Considered, NPR, 9 Mar. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/03/09/1236728490/mexico-bullfighting-women-bullfighters. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Horowitz, Jason. “On the Front Line of a War over Bullfighting Traditions.” The New York Times, 12 July 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/world/europe/spain-bullfights.html. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

“Japan Bullfighting: Women Allowed into ‘Pure’ Ring after Ban Lifted.” BBC News, 5 May 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44015286. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Kimmelman, Michael. “Bullfighting Is Dead! Long Live the Bullfight!” The New York Times, 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/sports/playmagazine/601bullfight.html. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Pozzebon, Stefano, et al. "Colombia’s Parliament Has Banned Bullfighting - Leaving Just Seven Nations That Still Permit It." CNN, 28 May 2024, www.cnn.com/2024/05/28/americas/colombia-bullfight-ban-bill-passed-intl-hnk. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

“Spain’s Balearic Islands Vote to Outlaw Killing Bulls at Fights.” Reuters, 24 July 2017, www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1A92BH. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.‌

Symons, Angela. “Bullfighting Could Soon Be Outlawed in Colombia.” Euronews, 21 Mar. 2023, www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/21/where-is-bullfighting-still-legal-colombia-ban-sheds-light-on-europes-divided-opinion. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

Thyberg, David. “Information on Bullfighting in Spain.” USA Today, 2017, traveltips.usatoday.com/information-bullfighting-spain-3422.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

“Why Spanish Bulls Are Now Deadlier.” The Economist, 2017, www.economist.com/news/europe/21661820-austerity-and-thrill-seeking-are-undermining-ancient-tradition-why-spanish-bulls-are-now. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.

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