Spanish Thinking about Animals

Abstract

This book gathers the work of 15 Spanish scholars working in the field of animal studies. It presents an interdisciplinary overview of humans’ abusive relationship with animals in Spanish art (in a chapter by Verónica Perales Blanco), literature (in chapters by Carmen Flys-Junquera, José Marchena Domínguez, José Manuel Marrero Henríquez, and Diana Villanueva-Romero), film (in a chapter by Claudia Alonso-Recarte and Ignacio Ramos-Gay), philosophy (in chapters by Lydia de Tienda, Jesús Mosterín, Alicia Puleo, and Marta Tafalla), and law (in a chapter by Nuria Menéndez de Llano). It also contains a chapter discussing the rise of the antispeciesist movement (by Estela Díaz and Oscar Horta) and an annotated bibliography on speciesism (by Daniel Dorado). The book aims to challenge human exceptionalism in Spain by examining ethical and aesthetic arguments, as well as cultural representations of animals (p. xxvii).A significant part of the book is devoted to bullfighting. This focus is justified: Spain as a whole has a bad reputation for animal cruelty because of this practice, even though only a small minority of Spaniards support bullfighting.1 Bullfighting is a national fiesta and seen as an important part of Spain's cultural heritage. It has, moreover, been promoted by iconic artists such as Federico García Lorca and Pablo Picasso (p. xxi), as well as celebrated contemporary authors like Mario Vargas Llosa and Fernando Savater (p. 130).2Around 60,000 animals are annually tortured in popular festivals in Spain. This includes not only bulls and cows, but also horses, geese, goats, lambs, and various other animals (p. xxi).3In her chapter “Animals as Ornaments: On the Aesthetic Instrumentalization of Animals,” Marta Tafalla argues that one form of animal exploitation is aesthetic instrumentalization, that is, using animals as ornamental objects to provide humans with aesthetic pleasure (p. 54). Bullfighting is a legally protected example of aesthetic instrumentalization, as the law treats this activity as a form of art (p. 55), comparable to flamenco. In fact, bullfighters go as far as declaring bullfighting “the art of arts” (ABC, 2017).Jesús Mosterín's chapter “Failed Arguments in Defense of Bullfighting” provides a concise list of counterarguments against common arguments in favor of bullfighting, useful for politicians, policymakers, and animal rights activists working on banning this activity. For example, Mosterín argues that there have been many cruel traditions that society has censured and abolished, such as burning heretics and the Chinese custom of binding women's feet. He accordingly argues that “culture is not static; it is a dynamic reality, constantly changing, subject to diverse influences, one of which is rational criticism” (p. 131).4The exact origin of the famous idiom “take the bull by the horns,” meaning to decisively deal with a difficult or dangerous situation, is unknown. Some ascribe this idiom to bullfighting, others to the American Old West, and yet others to farmers’ practice of controlling bulls by holding their horns. In any case, Spanish scholars and animal rights advocates are currently taking bullfighting “by the horns,” campaigning to ban this cruel practice in Spain. In fact, the Canary Islands banned bullfighting in 1991 and Catalonia followed suit in 2010 (p. xxii).5 Unfortunately, other cruel festivals involving animals, such as cockfighting and correbous, are still celebrated in those regions.6 In 2016, one of the cruelest festivals in Spain, the Toro de la Vega in Tordesillas (Valladolid), involving spearing a bull to death, was finally banned after relentless opposition from the animal rights movement (p. xxii).7Despite these important advances, bullfighting is still protected and promoted by Spanish law and financed by the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy Programme (Eurogroup for Animals, 2020). The special attention this volume gives to bullfighting is justified because understanding bullfighting is essential to understanding why animals do not receive greater legal protection in Spain. The law must be consistent with bullfighting. In bullfighting, a bull is painfully and repeatedly stabbed and finally killed with a sword, as the crowd applauds. A law that permits bullfighting is a law that permits animals to be tortured and killed. Thus, the existence of bullfighting is bad not only for bulls but for all animals, since other animals are left without adequate legal protection in order for bullfighting to continue.This and other interesting topics can be found in this wide-ranging and up-to-date collection. The volume will be of interest to anybody following the latest research in the field of animal studies in Spain as well as anyone interested in understanding and ending cruel uses of animals and cruel traditions involving animals.The author wishes to thank Paula Casal, Carlos Contreras, John Horden, and the editors of the Journal of Animal Ethics for their editorial support.