The “world’s first” sanctuary for Spanish fighting bulls has been founded in Colombia to prevent discarded animals from being slaughtered.
The Toro Bravo Reserve protects Spanish bulls and cows, and creates avenues for a post-bullfighting world in the mountain region surrounding the country’s capital, Bogota.
Thousands of bulls are at risk of being slaughtered as the Congress of the Republic of Colombia moves towards a bullfighting ban, according to the reserve.
So far, the Toro Bravo Reserve has protected seven Spanish fighting bulls and cows. The founder of the reserve and the Namigni Animal Sanctuary for farm animals, Miguel Aparicio said:
“The ban on bullfighting in Colombia or any other country, unfortunately, is always proposed without creating alternatives for fighting bulls, which are very complex and aggressive animals.
“And which, with the growing anti-bullfighting pressure, run the risk of being re-victimised by prohibitions that may not protect them effectively.”
The sanctuary aims to create business alternatives for people who depend on bullfighting, in which they can continue working near the bulls from a conservation and protection-oriented perspective.
Spanish fighting bulls
While the end of bullfighting is always associated with the end of the Spanish fighting bull breed, he said the reserve will be dedicated to conserving the breed and its natural habitat.
However, Aparicio emphasised that the conservation work of the breed will be done in a context in which the bulls will already be far from the bullrings and any bullfighting event.
The Toro Bravo Reserve also aims to involve breeding farms in multiple countries that are willing to leave behind an industry with “serious economic and demographic problems”, he said.
However, warning that a ban on bullfighting is not a complete solution for bulls and cows, the founder of the sanctuary said:
“What we need are positive and safe alternatives for these animals, and also enticing new animal-friendly business opportunities for those in the bullfighting world who are ready to make significant changes.”
The “moral and social dilemma that society is facing” cannot be resolved by simply continuing bullfighting, which is neither acceptable nor viable, or by enforcing blind bans, Aparicio said.
The Toro Bravo Reserve is currently engaging with former bullfighters and fighting bull ranchers to generate sustainable and positive changes for them, and for the bulls and cows, he said.
