Bullfighting has a very glorified public image — it is presented as a contest between the brave matador, who boldly risks life and limb to tackle a mad and ferocious beast.

1. BULLFIGHTING: THE FACTS

2. It seems hard to believe that in this so-called civilised age, a most
vicious and cruel spectacle of blood continues to flourish in
Spain and certain other countries. Bullfighting is barbaric and
should have been banned long ago, as bear-baiting was. It is
difficult to understand how crowds of people will pay money and
take pleasure in watching one lone creature - who has never
done them any harm — getting hacked to death. How can
anyone with an ounce of compassion, cheer and chant olé as a
banderilla or lance is thrust into the animal’s pain-racked body?

4. Bullfighting has a very glorified public image — it is presented as a
contest between the brave matador, who boldly risks life and
limb to tackle a mad and ferocious beast. The matador is always
dressed in a traditional costume of brilliant colours: the bullfight
is seen by many as the mysterious ritual between man and
beast, which is an integral part of Spanish culture and custom.
For this reason, many tourists who visit Spain feel that seeing a
bullfight is a necessary part of their holiday, just as tourists
visiting Britain go to see the Tower of London.

5. However, after witnessing the sheer horror of this sickening
slaughter, only the most hardened and callous would consider a
second visit to the bullring. The purpose of this booklet is to fully
explain what the bull has to endure, both during his last hour of
life in the ring, and also the other side of the bullfight not
commonly known to the vast majority of people: the pre-bullfight
treatment.

6. THE PRE-FIGHT TREATMENT
The bull is not an aggressive animal, and the reason he is angry
and attempts to charge at the matador whilst in the bullring is
mainly because he has been horrendously abused for the
previous two days. In fact, what spectators see is not a normal,
healthy bull, but a weakened, half-blinded and mentally
destroyed version, whose chances of harming his tormentors is
virtually nil. The bull has wet newspapers stuffed into his ears;
vaseline is rubbed into his eyes to blur his vision; cotton is
stuffed up his nostrils to cut off his respiration and a needle is
stuck into his genitals. Also, a strong caustic solution is rubbed
onto his legs which throws him off balance.

7. This also keeps him from lying down on the ground. In addition to
this, drugs are administered to pep him up or slow him down,
and strong laxatives are added to his feed to further incapacitate
him. He is kept in a dark box for a couple of days before he
faces the ring: the purpose of this is to disorientate him. When
he is let out of the box, he runs desperately towards the light at
the end of the tunnel. He thinks that at last his suffering is over
and he is being set free — instead, he runs into the bullring to
face his killers and a jeering mob.

9. THE “FIGHT”
Strictly speaking, a bullfight is composed of 3 separate “acts”, and the
whole thing is supposed to last for 20 minutes, though in actual fact it
varies. The opening of a bullfight begins with a tune being played on a
trumpet — the tune is the special, signa lure Rifle which characterises
the beginning of the horror. Upon entering the ring, bulls have been
known to collapse through exhaustion alter their pre-fight ordeal —
they have been dragged to their feet by the bullfighter’s assistants.

10. The Picadors
The sequence of events begins when the bull faces the picadors —
these are the men on horseback, whose purpose it is to exhaust the
bull. They cut into his neck muscles with a pica. This is a weapon of
about 6-8 inches long, and 2 inches thick. Once it is thrust into the bull
it is twisted round and a large, gaping wound appears. The bull then
starts bleeding to death.
The Assistant Matadors
After the picador has finished his sordid business, the assistant matadors
then get to work with the banderillas (sharp, harpoon-like barbed
instruments). These are plunged into the bull’s body, and he may also
be taunted by capes. Up to six banderillas may be used. When the
banderillas strike the bull stops in his tracks and bellows madly.

11. The Kill
A trumpet signals the final “act” — in fact, during the whole nightmare,
strange, slow tunes are played throughout. It is, of course, during the
final act that the bull is killed (and hopefully goes onto a better life).
The kill should last 6 minutes, and is done by the main matador. If he
has any difficulties (which is an extremely rare occurrence), the others
immediately rush in to his aid and finish off the bull.

12. More info:
http://www.alcoso.es/
http://www.stopbullfighting.org.uk/facts.htm