During a bullfight, in Spain (illustration).
-
CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP
Very shared on Facebook, a post list of cruel abuses that would be inflicted on bulls before the bullfights.
Contacted by
20 Minutes
, the Federation of Struggles for the Abolition of Bullfights (Flac) evokes practices that are not "systematic" and recognizes a lack of material evidence.
For its part, the National Observatory of Taurine Cultures denounces "shameless lies".
“Before the bullfight, they rub petroleum jelly in his eyes to tarnish his eyesight.
"Thus begins a publication, seen nearly 40 million views on Facebook in recent days, which lists the abuse that would be inflicted on animals a few hours before these controversial shows:" cotton in the nostrils "," needle in the middle genitals ”,“ corrosive substance on the legs ”.
Post FB of March 8, 2021. - Facebook capture
The publication is accompanied by a photo of a bull, visibly exhausted, facing a crowd gathered in a square.
It is not specified where or when the photo was taken.
Posted on Monday, this post is the resumption, almost word for word, of other posts published in July 2019.
The text is even the translation of an older publication, written by a British site and reproduced in 2013 on a Facebook account dedicated to the defense of veganism.
FAKE OFF
What is it?
According to Thierry Hély, president of the Federation of struggles for the abolition of bullfights (Flac), "the cruel practices cited in this publication are not systematic".
However "the bullfighting world being particularly opaque, it is extremely difficult to interfere in their practices".
The opponent to bullfighting explains to
20 Minutes
that these abuses were described in 1993 by Alain Perret, in the pamphlet
La Mafia tauromaniaque
(Les Ecrits
sauvage
editions), on the basis of “the testimony of a repentant bullfighter veterinarian”.
A member association of Flac, the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) also cites these accusations of ill-treatment when it explains its fight for the suppression of bullfighting.
" It does not exist "
President of the National Observatory of Taurine Cultures, André Viard denounces "the inventions of an antitaurine association in Nîmes".
"These are shameless lies, they do not exist, insists the former bullfighter.
Corrida is based on the physical integrity of the bull.
The art of bullfighting is based on the balance that the bullfighter is able to build between the strength of the bull and his own body language.
"
According to him, a bull which "appears deficient" is "refused by the veterinary services and does not enter the arena".
In practice, there is "a control prior to the bullfight and a post-mortem control, at the slaughterhouse, before putting it in the food chain, by the health services".
"Decrease the bull"
The Union des Villes Taurines de France considers, in an ethics guide published on its site, that these “post-mortem findings” demonstrate that “the accusations of ill-treatment inflicted on the bull before the bullfight are unfounded and fall within the scope of malevolence ”.
On the Flac side, Thierry Hély believes on the contrary that "it is obvious that if a frail bullfighter had to face a bull weighing 500 kg in perfect health, the man, confronted with such a force, would be killed immediately", and that 'it "must be reduced physically, whether it be before entering the arena or during the bullfight".
Sawn horns?
La Flac, like the Radically Anti-Corrida Committee (Crac), denounces in particular the “almost systematic” practice of sawing off the ends of bulls' horns.
According to Thierry Hély, “It hurts the bull extremely badly, and in addition, it makes it lose its spatial references.
"
“That no longer exists in bullfights!” Retorts André Viard.
This was done a very long time ago, and the Union of Bullfighting Cities took action against this fraud.
It is strictly prohibited by the regulations.
"However, horn sawing is still practiced as part of" galas "or" horse races ", less than ten events each year in France, according to him.
Moreover, the former bullfighter, considers that "it does not hurt the bull".
“What we file, to preserve horses, is creatine, that is to say, horn.
"
As for another anti-bullfighting accusation, according to which sedatives are given to bulls, André Viard is categorical: “Never in life!
The goal of a bullfight organizer is to put on a brilliant show.
The bull must be in full possession of its means and the most formidable possible.
If the bull becomes unpredictable, it becomes impossible to bull.
"
Judicial pressure
Very upset against associations opposed to bullfighting, the president of the Observatory of bullfighting cultures challenges them to provide proof of mistreatment that would be inflicted before entering the arena.
And says he is ready to counter-attack in court.
"As they never accuse by name an organizer, a bullfighter, of engaging in these practices, one can never file a complaint for public insult or defamation", he explains.
Corrida concerns between 700 and 1,000 bulls each year in France, according to André Viard.
"It's difficult to assess, but in total, around 200,000 bulls are killed each year in the world," said Thierry Hély, president of Flac.
Society
Bayonne: Seized by the SPA, justice authorizes the city to continue its bullfights
Politics
VIDEO.
Present at a bullfight, the Minister of Agriculture "regrets" to have been able to shock
Bullfight
Fake off
Animals
Taurus
Society