In our modern age, it’s shocking that the brutal and bloodthirsty spectacle of bullfighting continues to thrive in Spain and some other places. Such barbarity, reminiscent of bear-baiting, should have been relegated to history long ago. The concept of people paying to watch an innocent creature, that poses no threat to them, brutally killed for entertainment is baffling. It’s hard to comprehend how anyone with the slightest compassion can applaud and shout “olé” as the animal suffers excruciating pain from the banderillas or lances.
Bullfighting is often glamorized as a valiant duel between the daring matador, who takes significant risks to confront a supposedly wild and fierce animal. The matador’s attire, a vivid array of traditional colors, along with the bullfight, is romanticized as a mystical ritual of man versus beast, deeply embedded in Spanish tradition and culture. Consequently, many tourists visiting Spain see attending a bullfight as an essential experience, much like visiting the Tower of London is for those in Britain.
Yet, most tourists are likely to be so appalled by the cruelty and barbarism of their first bullfight that only the most insensitive could bear to attend another. Despite this, bullfighting remains a yearly spectacle for audiences numb to the cruelty of this cultural form of entertainment. Nonetheless, the bulls occasionally exact their revenge on the matadors daring to confront them.
This point was starkly illustrated when a French matador, Juan Leal, 26, was severely injured, receiving a ten-inch wound, after being gored by an enraged bull at Las Ventas bullring in Madrid.
Remarkably, after being gored, the bullfighter managed to rise and continue his fight. Once it concluded, he walked to the infirmary on his own.
Medical professionals reported that he sustained a 25cm (about ten inches) wound in his rectum, potentially fracturing his sacrum coccyx, with the injury exiting through the gluteal area.
The bull turned on him during the fight which was part of the San Isidro festivities.
Pictures show how Leal was taunting the bull with his cape when the animal struck him several times, tossing him around the ring before being tempted away.
The bullfighter was able to walk away, his white trousers torn and visibly stained with blood from the substantial wound.
He was quickly taken to a hospital for surgery.
His surgeon, Máximo García Leirado, later expressed astonishment at the bullfighter’s ability to continue the fight and even kill the bull, noting, “A normal person wouldn’t have been able to stand up or walk.”
He added that it was fortunate the bull’s horn struck the sacrum and slid upwards, avoiding more serious internal injuries.
The medical team expects him to fully recover, provided he rests and avoids any infections.
