Animal Cruelty In Sport

This article was written by Alexandria Fox, Year 8

In 2023, it seems as though the topic of animal cruelty has been dismissed within our society. When you think of animal cruelty, what comes to your mind? Animal testing, makeup, kennels, and the dairy industry. But what about sports?

Bullfighting

Within the sport of bullfighting, everyone has their eyes on the ‘damned’, but have you ever seen a single person such as bat an eye to the bull? you may heard of one or two people coming forward in an attempt to

enlighten those unaware, but evidently, nothing big has come out other than the continuation of this inhumane act of cruelty. Did you know that bulls are intentionally weakened before every fight? These helpless animals are drugged and at times shaved of their horns, these measurements in place just to disorient them. But it only gets worse from there, petroleum jelly is forcefully rubbed into their eyes to prevent them from easily spotting their ‘Target’. All this to ensure these tortured bulls never stand a chance against the matador, who is tasked with killing them slowly, all for the pure entertainment of the viewers. 

Dogfighting

Animals used in dog fighting are usually kept 

chained outdoors in horrific, disgusting conditions

with little to no shelter. They are drugged, beaten, 

and starved. The main reason for their unruly 

beatings are to rally them up for a fight.

Even after these traumatic battles, if they 

Don’t die in the ring, the ‘losers’ are brutally 

Finished off by their ‘trainers’. Often they are

Electrocuted, drowned, burned, hanged, or shot. Many others are abandoned to die slowly from their fatal injuries.