RIP. Very sad.

Spot on Michael Carty,

Spot on, Michael.

Well you are wrong on the fact that the bulls are killed ALWAYS in the end. If a bull fights well enough, the audience can spare it, and it will be sent to a breeding farm. Granted, it isn’t like this happens often.

If you truly are from a farm, you would know that animals, especially cows aren’t stupid. They know what is happening once at the abattoir, they can smell the fear of other animals, along with the smell of death. I would’t want to know what it is like for a cow to be stuck there knowing the inevitable is only around the corner.

You keep using the word torture. Is bull fighting worse torture than what happens to caged hens or pigs who never see day light. I think people need to review what they consider true torture.

Of course, I wouldn’t want you to torture my dog or cat. The same way I’m sure you wouldn’t be too happy with them being farmed and used for food.

@Michel

Whether we kill an animal for sport, to eat or to wear……..at the end of the day what’s the difference?

I ask this as a meat eating leather wearer, I just don’t understand why some consider it more moral to kill an animal so we can enjoy eating it’s flesh than for sport.

Not to mention actual bull fighting, watch a couple of bull fights and then tell me its perfectly ok to kill an animal in such a way. Disgusting stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JmXO2OwGv4
watch till the end when after sticking spears into the bull they then drag its corpse around the place, how anyone can call this a sport is beyond me

Would u also ban road bowls if some kid got hit in the head and died

What about the 3 young lads that died in the car crash last friday? Should we ban driving in that case also? I think you’ll find it causes far more deaths and horrendous injuries than the bull run.

@King: there is a big fatality chance diference between driving a car and running away from an inraged bull…

people have died from papercuts, THEREFORE we should ban paper…

Also insenitive example man…

Those of you talking about banning other non related activities show an ignorance of comparing like with like. In terms of risk levels alone, the comments are futile…

Driving is a normal, necessary, every day activity. Every day activities carry the risk of accidents occurring. Torturing another living creature to death is not a normal, necessary, every day activity and carries a much higher risk of serious injury or death for anyone participating in it. I feel no sympathy for anyone who is injured or killed while taking part in activities like this

@ Pat – Apologies if I offended you or anyone with my example. It was insensitive of me. I just wanted to get my point across that we cannot just keep banning things if people get hurt or die in them. People will always die in unusual circumstances that were easily preventable.

A better example might be Basejumping. The statistics roughly are 1 in every 2000 will die. For a sport that has a active population of roughly 20,000..it is a pretty high figure. Why do something that is dangerous and could lead to serious injury or death? Because its human nature coupled with the mundane nature of the modern world. People think the excitement is worth the risk. Should this be banned because it is a very dangerous sport?

There is also a difference between driving and driving dangerously. A lot of young men drive like lunatics and this why we have fatalities. Don’t ban driving, ban boy racers and their stupid plastic cars.

@Michael, the bull run is important for how else would be give out Darwin awards

@king, just did the math, you are more like likely to die from a bull run than base jumping(odds of death are about 1 in 16,000 per bull run)

The odds of death in base jump is far lower at the figure you gave per jump, as it counts for multiple jumps from one person.

Also at least saftey precausions can be taken with a a base jumper. Angery bull= far less predictible

…so yes it should be banned

@ Pat – Again, I was only using base jumping as something that could be considered dangerous. Not a direct comparison. While I am sure that your figures are correct, they don’t really address my point. I would consider the bull run more dangerous than base jumping. Thousands of base jumping events are held each year with few incidents….where as there are only on handful of bull run events where people do get injured and sometimes die.

So I am not disputing what is more dangerous, but more is it right to ban something because people die during it. People die in all sorts of easily avoidable circumstances….I just think banning is the wrong thing to do. Maybe educate people to better make a decision for themselves rather than having a government acting like a nanny.

Hypothetically, If there was a sport that had a 50% survival rate and 100′s of people wanted to do it, should it be allowed?

HELL NO, its about where you draw the line and running with bulls is past that line,
Hundreds of people have been injured, many have died from this bloodsport…

I see pat is a firm believer in the nanny state. Are you in favour of banning running in school yards as well?

@robert, I just said base-jumping is expectable as a sport, so no I don’t agree with that.

Take the time to properly read through what people say next time, before you make a silly comment.

You wouldn’t be say flippant about it of it was brother/son/nephew of yours.

I would not have a 16 year old relative of mine at these bull running so called festivals, it was only a matter of time before someone will die.

Seriously, what’s flippant? It’s tragic he died, but there’s no way in hell I’d let my son go do the bull run, if I had any say in the matter. The surprise is that more people don’t die every year. I’m sorry, but it’s a stupid, foolhardy thing to do and it’s taking an obvious risk. You can’t argue with that.

Ever been to an abattoir that processes average Joe’s meat? Now that is torture. All for the sake of people wanting their nice clean, blood free, plastic packaging. But let me guess, because the majority of people never see it, and therefore never think about it, it is easily justified torture.

You might never agree with me, but I think everyone would rather be the bull that gets a fighting chance rather than the one standing on an assembly line of death.

Besides, who are we to tell the Spanish what to do? Maybe we should sort out our own mess at home first. Some horrible cases of animal cruelty and torture here, where the people involved getting a banning order and a small fine. Not even a mention of jail time.

How would you feel is the Spanish decided to lecture us on our wreckless drinking “culture”? It kills many and effects many others too.

Michael, in Ireland you are always going to get negative reaction (in this case red thumbs) if you mention banning animal cruelty.

Typical Irish reaction to ban everything…….just listen to Joe Duffy any day of the week. No matter what is in the news, everyones instinctive reaction is ban ban ban

Surely common sense is king, and in a free country populated by Adults, we cannot require a law governing every aspect of human behaviour.

Yes bull running is crazy, and a tradition, but if free people want to take those risks after considering them. I can respect that, myself I am not interested…….however everyone is different, and this reflexive ban culture really annoys me.

We do not require a nanny state for everything……

What HelloGoogleTracking said.

Everybody dies. If they want to take the chance at a traditional bull running fiesta, let them do it.

Yes I have been to one, several times unfortunately. I know they are killed very quickly. They don’t physically endure very much pain. I would presume you have been to one? Did you not get the smell of fear in the place? Those animals know what is coming, all they can do is stand around and wait for it. I would imagine anticipation of death is worse than death itself.

This the reason I don’t eat farmed meat. Unless I know the restaurant well and how my food is treated, I just simply stick to eating fish or vegetarian. Any of the red meat I get is from when I go hunting a couple of times per year. If I could keep my own animals and slaughter them myself I would, but the EU has made it illegal for a person to slaughter their own meat.

At least in a bull fight, the bull thinks it has a fighting chance. Better than waiting around for the end to come.

@ frank, @ Michael perfectly valid for Ireland but in “civilised ” France thousands of animals are killed every week ( and don’t forget that it’s nearly the end of Ramadan) without prior stunning according to Muslim Halal rituals. According to the French National Front a majority of bovines are killed in this manner! My family are heading towards a vegetarian existence because of this cruelty. Sorry to be off subject but animals in Ireland are probably better treated … Still see some empty Irish livestock transporters on the roads here ( in Fr) , am I to believe that animals are still transported from Ireland to die on the continent? Sorry I really don’t know

I remember the immortal phase too, mad to look back on! Luckily I never happened across a bull run.

Get over what? These are extremely cruel practises, apart from the danger to humans crazy enough to get involved. Some people need to get over their addiction to animal cruelty.