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Roped Bulls

This modality consists on the release in a locality of a bovine cow with one or two ropes tied to his head to limit and control its movements and attacks.

The rope bull is probably the most atavistic spectacle and also the most distressing for the animal, being the one that limits its movements the most and for the longest time.

Suffering is accentuated in this type of celebration due to the great physical exhaustion that accumulates, being pushed to the limits of their aerobic capacity. In all the festivities you can see how, shortly after starting, the bulls resort to abdominal breathing with their mouths open, their tongues hanging out, and profuse salivation.

Problem

The suffering of the roped bull begins as soon as it is loaded into the truck, where it can remain for hours until the show begins. During the transport time, hunger and thirst exacerbate their suffering, to such an extent that bulls have sometimes died inside the boxes, or they feel so bad that they have not been able to endure the journey to the end, being exhausted and refusing to move forward.

During the tour, from 30 to 60 minutes, and forced to run along paved streets, he will be stopped at each attack, and at each break, he will be pulled so that he continues running and displaying a show. They often end up crashing into stone walls, metal fences, vehicles, or traffic signs.

Reasons

The roped bull allows greater control over the bull, so participation in this type of show attracts a more varied public of all ages, including children, who often run after the bull on the shoulders of their parents or holding hands. For the bullfighting sector, it is the best way to create fans and ensure generational change. Many more women also participate, feeling their safety a little more guaranteed.

Consequences

The damage caused by roping a bull can put the lives of these animals at risk, in addition to causing physical and psychological injuries.

• Risk of death: Deaths generally occur as a result of brutal blows that the bull can give himself against stone walls, trees, metal fences, or other elements of street furniture when it desperately tries to get rid of the ropes.
• Breaks and injuries: Cervical dislocations may occur during the struggle when trying to free themselves from the ropes or suffer strong falls when running on a type of pavement to which they are not accustomed or morphologically prepared. Bulls that have suffered damage that prevents them from being rented for other celebrations are sent to the slaughterhouse.
• Exhaustion: Bovids, in general, are calm, ruminant animals that spend half their lives grazing and the other resting. They are not prepared to run long races for a long period, and even less so are the adult specimens chosen for this type of celebration, which are much heavier and clumsier. It is common that a few minutes after starting they already have their tongue hanging out, dehydrated, and with their heart on the verge of collapse.
• Psychological suffering: Although it may seem that bulls are rough, strong, and brave animals, the truth is that they are rather excitable, temperamental, and nervous ruminant bovids, and they show feelings of panic if they are separated from their social group. If we add the anguish of feeling trapped inside a truck or box, tied by the head, deprived of free movement, the noise of shouting, applause, etc., we can say that undoubtedly the practice of roping a bull provides great psychological suffering.