Woman comforts bull dying in ring
To some, she is a hero fighting back against barbaric tradition, but to others she ruined a good day's bullfighting.
|||Madrid - To some in Spain, she is a hero who is fighting back against a cruel and barbaric tradition, but to others she ruined a good day's bullfighting.
Animal rights groups have hailed the “bravery and courage” of Virginia Ruiz, who jumped into a bullring in Malaga to comfort a dying animal.
Most of the 8 000 people packed into La Malagueta arena were there to see the bull's blood and, waving their white handkerchiefs, jeered Ms Ruiz, who lay on top of the animal as it died.
Speaking to local television, Ms Ruiz, 38, who now faces a €6 000 (£4 280) fine for trespassing, said: “I wanted to give him love before he left this world.”
She explained that she had not intended to jump into the ring, but felt compelled to after hearing the bull's moans when it was stabbed by the matador.
“I know what I'm doing is totally just,” she said of her intervention in the ring at the weekend.
“I believe in my ideals. And I don't have any fear.”
Peta, the animal rights group, saluted the activist.
“Virginia showed a great deal of bravery and kindness when she jumped into the ring,” the group said in statement.
“Hopefully, her compassionate act is giving citizens a new look at the archaic, shameful spectacle that is bullfighting.”
Animal rights activists have the wind in their sails in Spain after a number of left-wing mayors elected in May's local elections said they would look at ways of outlawing bullfights and other events in which animals are killed. At the very least, many have said they will block the availability of public money for events.
That did not stop a bizarre incident on Wednesday where a demonstrator was beaten with a live duck when trying to prevent an annual tradition in Catalonia, where the birds are thrown into the sea before being recovered by swimmers.
The man, filming the event, recorded a woman leaving the sea after recovering a duck. When she became aware that she was being observed on video, she grabbed the duck by the legs and hit the man, who continued to film her as she came back on land.
“Continue, continue. Continue to abuse, I am filming you. A little bit of empathy for the animals. They also have a life, like your children or your family,” the man who was filming can be heard saying.
The film was later released by the Spanish animal rights group, Animal Rescue España, according to The Local.
The incident highlights the strong passions that many feel when it comes to the rights of animals in Spain, or on the opposite side of the argument, the need to keep alive traditions that involve the killing of animals in the name of sport.
But there is a human cost, too. So far this summer, seven people have been killed at bullfights or attending bull-running events - where a crowd is chased through the streets of a town.
Last weekend alone, four people died, all of them gored by bull's horns.
As well as the fatalities, many - including famous matadors - have been injured.
Saul Jimenez Fortes' return to the ring earlier this week was marred by a horrifying injury in which a bull's horn went through his chin, reaching the base of his skull.
He was taken to hospital in Salamanca, where his condition has been described as serious but stable.
Jimenez Fortes was making his return to the ring after suffering a serious goring to the neck in May.
After that incident, he needed several hours of emergency surgery at a Madrid hospital.
In all, more than 7 000 bulls were killed at events across Spain last year.
The Independent