Bullfighting

Write to UNESCO: 

Bullfighting is not culture; it is cruelty

Bullfighting is one of the most abhorrent forms of animal abuse for entertainment still in existence—the bloody spectacle is responsible for the deaths of up to 250,000 animals worldwide every year.

Right now, bullfighting supporters are starting the process to have this cruelty protected by having the ‘sport’ listed as a form of cultural heritage. Politicians in both France and Tordesillas in Spain have voted on this recently.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) preserves many expressions of genuine Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Please let UNESCO know that you would never support a move to accept bullfighting, or any other act of animal cruelty, as a practice worthy of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Any successful listing of this despicable activity by UNESCO would not only give a veneer of respectability to the torture of animals for public entertainment, but it would also mean that subsidies may be made available to financially safeguard the future of bullfighting.

Please speak out for bulls today—sign on to our letter to UNESCO now.

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Every year, approximately 250,000 bulls are killed in bullfights. The animals are stabbed multiple times before suffering slow, agonizing deaths in front of an audience, including children. Animal cruelty is not entertainment. You can help by not attending bullfights.

Bullfights are not "fair fights" between a bull and a matador, but highly staged forms of animal cruelty, sanctioned and subsidized by governments. These outdated spectacles perpetuate the idea that injuring and killing an animal for amusement is acceptable. With attendance at an all-time low and bans enacted by several countries and cities, bullfighting is on the decline; yet events still take place in Spain, France, Portugal, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Mexico. HSI is focusing in particular on ending government use of public funds to support the bullfighting industry. In addition, we are working to end child bullfighting.