Open letter to MEP Luis De Grandes

Mr. De Grandes:

We have recently been informed that you have promoted the exposition 'Entre el hombre y el toro' / 'Between man and the bull' at the European Parliament, taking advantage of your position as an MEP to do so.

From our organization we feel obliged to openly criticise not only this initiative, but also your public support of such event. This exposition is a misleading representation of what 'bullfights' really are, presenting the torture of animals as something traditional, artistic and necessary to mantain the enviroment. Something we find unacceptable.

It's terrible to see a political institution become a place to hold an exposition that promotes violence, because the killing of thousands of bulls each year in the name of culture and tradition can only be considered an act of violence. You most certainly don't regard any human exploitation, no matter how common or old as acceptable, and we find it disturbing to see that you not only consider the killing of bulls defendable, but that you are also an important promoter of the torture of non-human animals.

Regarding this issue we have recently read an article where you say that you feel hurt by the growing opposition to the killing of bulls in Spain. This in our opinion is a clear demonstration of how distorted your vision on this subject is, you feel hurt because more and more people use their right to free speach to show opposition to animal suffering, however, you employ your freedom of speach and your privileges as MEP to promote the killing of bulls.

But perhaps your article 'Poner una pica en Flandes: toros en Bruselas' / 'Putting a Pike in Flanders: bulls in Brussels' is of all your declarations the ones which has most deeply disturbed us, in it we could read; 'We will make our colleagues see that thanks to bullfighting, and the work of the farmers, the bull used for bullfights (the toro bravo) survives today in Spain, an animal which has become extinct in the rest of Europe. Herds of these bulls are essential for the Spanish ecosystem, helping to mantain more than 540,000 hectares of land'. You don't seem to be aware that respecting bulls interest in life doesn't mean the dissapearence of these 540,000 hectares of land, because respecting the enviroment has nothing to do with torturing innocent animals. But even more important, you ignore that all animals (including humans) have interests that must be respected in spite of the benefit others can gain from ignoring them, and that the existence of a species doesn't justify causing pain to it's members.

Those of you who employ such statements to defend the killing of bulls try to come across as people concerned about animals and the environment by using demagogic and misleading arguments. The killing of bulls is exploitation, torture and murder, and NOT respect for anything or anybody.

Unfortunetly the negative consequences of the killing of bulls don't end with the death of the bulls. Bulls used for 'bullfights', despite what most people think, suffer not only in the bullring, but before that. They are branded in order to be identified, they suffer anxiety and stress during transport to the bullring, etc. Other animals can also be added to the list of victims, horses for example are commonly gored so badly by the bulls that they are killed after the "fiesta", these animals also undergo a state of panic when in the bullring due to the presence of the bull and the noisy crowd.

Animals feel in the same way we do, they are conscious beings who want to live in freedom and certainly don't want to end up suffering and vomiting blood in a bullring to be later butchered and served as food. We believe that respect has no boundaries and that it shouldn't be subjected to race, gender or species. We are all equal in one thing, all of us animals (we musn't forget that humans are also animals), all subjects of life, and all of us should have rights that protect our interests.

From Igualdad Animal / Animal Equality we think it's time to promote respect and peace from institutions such as the European Parlament and not violence.

Sharon Nunez
Spokesman of the organization Animal Equality