Spectacle of Bullfighting Losing Fans

Dogfighting has been in the news like never before. But there are other horrible spectator sports involving the torment of animals that are staged throughout the world, and none is better known than bullfighting.

Fortunately, bullfighting is banned in the United States, except a limited exception in a couple of states for so-called "bloodless" bullfighting—where stabbing the bulls is strictly forbidden.

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Spain is still the international capital of lethal bullfighting and draws thousands of spectators to its rings, though tourists fill most of the seats. The mythology is that this sadistic public killing of a bull doubles as some sort of dramatic artistic expression. The reality is, there's no drama—since we know who always prevails. And it is just a trumped-up display of human dominance and callousness done in the pursuit of profit.

Fortunately, few young Spaniards attend bullfights, and in-country opposition to the bloodletting is growing.

The latest indicator of a challenge to bullfighting in Spain is that state-run Spanish television has stopped airing bullfighting programming. We're thrilled with the news and hope it's a harbinger of more change to come in Spain.

To read an AP story on the decision, click here.