On the route to extinction?

As you know, I'm born and raised a bit south of the Douro River, in Portugal. It's a beautiful city, check @portugalcoin's posts for some great photos of this place! And also this new channel @portoc! I can't say my bedroom view was exactly this one, but here's a small photo of Porto:

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As in most countries, there is a small healthy rivalry between this town and the capital Lisbon, and that's something you can clearly notice if you can get out the tourist traps. People here are a bit harsh but friendly, fiercest but affectionate, and extremely humble. They will always defend their musicians, writers, politicians and football personalities even if they're not that great.

One of the most ancient traditions we have in this country is bullfights. Some days ago I was reading about how bullfighting had a huge decline in this town since the XVIII century, regardless of numerous attempts to restart them. Tauromaquic companies put efforts by building arenas and promoting the events but the population just thought they were cruel and showed their disapproval and repudiation. Most companies went bankrupt within some years and all arenas simply disappeared.

"We see that unfortunately they strive in the intent of introducing in this city an entertainment contrary to the nature and habits of it's inhabitants, but even if it that wasn't true, never would it be less damnable and object of repulse."

_{Newspapper "Comércio do Porto", 26 January 1870}

While bullfighting is still a problem in Portugal, it is sustained by a strong lobby against the interest of the population. Half - yes, half! - of the claims against public television in Portugal are for the end of the bullfighting on public TV, that still transmits about 3 of them regardless of the plummeting audiences. Some of the most tradicional cities simply banned bullfights, considering they give no cultural value at all: Viana do Castelo is a great example.

One of the recent events regarding the general interest in banning bullfights is the student's referendum in Coimbra, city that hosts one of the most ancient bullfights in the country: 71% voted against so the academic society withdrew their support to the event. And these "garraiadas" are not even a sanguinary event like most bullfights, it's just a bunch of drunk students running from the bull like this:

Most arenas survive thanks to pop music concerts or shopping centers like the one in Lisbon, or just plain money from mayors that insist in the "tradicional value" argument. Bull farmers only survive thanks to agropecuary financing, some of it coming from the European Union. There are also entire political parties that simply agree with it.

"I see bullfights as a cultural expression [...] as a ballet"

_{Assunção Cristas, leader of CDS-PP, far-right portuguese political party}

Bullfights, from an animalist point of view

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I cannot close my eyes to the evidences. Bulls are sensient beings, meaning they feel pain. And no tradition has a bigger value than life itself, no matter if human or non-human life. So here's my description of bullfights:

Upper-class mummies trying to keep their spoiled children away from the "evil protesters" that almost always gather outside of the arenas, before entering it and cheering whenever a rich horseman sticks a javelin into the animal's flesh. Usually kids don't enjoy that much, and their papas say bullfights "are in our cultural DNA" and addresses the outside protesters as "incults". This keeps going for hours and hours, while the bull gets weaker and weaker with the loss of blood and gets tired of chasing the poor horse with that awfully-dressed man on top.

After a while the bull is almost over so he won't chase the horse anymore. In Portugal, medieval aged people thought "he will likely die anyway, so why don't we put a bunch of people trying to grab him by the horns and pretend they're strong?" so they created a performance called "forcados" where 8 ridiculously-dressed men try to subdue the poor animal and try not to get killed in the meantime. Sometimes this happens and people still enjoy (very strong images, please don't watch if you're sensible).

In Spain they also enjoy killing the animal in the rig, cheering and celebrating its death with much joy and music. The killer (matador, in Spanish) may feel he's really good at this so he cuts an ear or two as a happy souvenir. Here in Portugal they kill the poor animal off-stage, a sad ending to an animal that would be otherwise happy, considering how well they treat it in life (that's another point: they give the animal a great happy life! why torturing him to death afterwards?)

Then the party is over and people go to their mansions feeling well for being humans and not bulls. After all, we're better than them.