JM Coetzee: Bullfighting Is a Disgrace
Acclaimed South African writer JM Coetzee didn’t mince words this week as he dispatched a scathing letter to the Culture Committee of Spain, criticising its support for bullfighting.
The Nobel Prize winner’s rousing message urged committee members to reject a pending initiative, sparked by bullfighting aficionados, which would give bullfighting legal protection as a “cultural pastime”. Here’s an extract:
Bullfighting is an archaic form of entertainment. It is a violent, bloody spectacle – a throwback to a time when people took no heed of the feelings of animals and the bull
All around the world, people agree – chasing, stabbing, mutilating and killing a bull isn’t very entertaining, nor does it constitute “culture”, in Spain or anywhere else. So, upon learning that over the next few weeks, the Spanish government is considering legislation to protect and promote bullfighting and recognise it as cultural heritage, international animal rights groups decided to take action – together!
With their naked bodies painted red and black and lying on the ground to spell out the words “Stop Bullfights”, dozens of PETA activists protested against the cruel Running of the Bulls in Pamplona and the deadly bullfights that follow. The protest was held outside the mayor’s residence just two days before the barbaric bull runs are scheduled to start. Other activists, including some from as far away as Australia and the United States, held a banner that read, “Bulls Die a Bloody Death in Pamplona”. PETA’s point? That tormenting animals by … 
