Coronavirus Halts Animal Blood Sports and Animal ‘Entertainment’ Events
Bullfights, foxhunts, and horse racing among events that are forced to stop indefinitely - meaning thousands of animals have been saved.
Hundreds of bulls, foxes and horses are among the animals who won’t be abused over the coming weeks as the coronavirus outbreak forces events around the world to cancel.
During this difficult time, it’s welcome news to hear that the following events have been forced to go without abusing animals for the foreseeable future:
Bullfights
Over twenty bullfighting ‘performances’ in Spain have been cancelled due to the outbreak, with animal rights group Anima Naturalis reporting that these cancellations have saved the lives of 120 bulls.
Whilst the infamous sport is only legal in just eight countries, around 250,000 bulls are killed in bullfights every year, and most will suffer an agonizing death.
Horse racing
The UK has suspended all horse racing for over a month, including their flagship event The Grand National Festival, which attracts a worldwide audience of around 500 million viewers. The controversial three-day Grand National saw three horses die in 2019, while the wider horse racing industry is responsible for the painful deaths of around 200 horses each year in the UK.
Rodeos
Among the rodeos forced shut is RodeoHouston, which is one of the largest livestock exhibitions and rodeos in the world. Rodeos like RodeoHouston are criticised for their cruel treatment of animals, where events like calf roping, bull riding, and steer wrestling cause unnecessary pain, and even death, to the non-human participants forced to perform.
Fox hunting
Whilst fox hunting is technically illegal in the UK, hunts are often found to flout the law, with 550 cases of illegal kills reported in 2018.
The cruel bloodsport sees huntsmen on horseback leading packs of hounds through the countryside. Wild foxes are hunted down, before being ripped apart by the bloodthirsty hounds. It’s a relief then, to hear that the UK’s Hunting Office have cancelled all hunts due to the outbreak.
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