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hi!
i had no idea where to put this thread, but in the face of good acceptance of other culture-related threads i decided to post it. maybe you’ll like it, maybe you won’t, but at least you learn something about another culture. but one thing, please read to the end.
so, bullfighting is a rural sport in bosnia. but unlike the gory and disgusting bloodsport of bullfighting in spain and some hispanic countries, it isn’t a fight to the death, and even injuries are rare.
this is an animal vs. animal fight, just two animals, no idiot which shows off with a sword. the bulls use their natural aggression to fight and when one is defeated he runs away. through the crowd. remember, the concept of a bovine fight is to test the other’s strenght, not to kill him(like fights between equids). also, they are not bred for aggression, but for wits. wits, not just physical strenght wins here.
unlike the dogfights and cockfights where animals are expendable and often abused and bred for maximum ferocity, the fighting bull is a valuable animal of no distinct species. it can be of any species, raised as a calf to accept people.
these bulls are held and bred by rich landowners, who can afford to keep these animals. as these bulls fight with a crowd of people around, they are highly socialized to accept people and not to attack them. they are handled from the early age.
they use nose rings…NOT! seriously,the nose is not pierced and they DON’T have nose rings. ever.
these bulls are so thoroughly socialized and disciplined that they can be led by a rope around the horns. just to be said, drew conroy didn’t prefer the rope around horns for cows and oxen because the animal has to much force over human with it. and yet these bulls are obediently led by nose rope in the crowd.
these bulls are i think only bulls in the world that are safe with no physical restraint around people.
a fighting bull. note the absence of nose rings.“training” means mostly physical conditioning, through running and other exercizes. sparring between bulls is also organized. a smart bull learns fighting techniques ans moves, so it is not the most powerful bull that always wins.
and it is fun to watch when a physically not as strong animal, through courage, wits and technique wins over a stronger one.
but that is if there even comes to a conflict.if one bull is weaker, not as brave, or just thinks the other bull is stronger, he just runs away. often there is no actual fight if one bull decides not to fight. as a bull has no pierced nose, there is no way to MAKE him fight, like in japan where the bulls are dragged into arena by nose rope.
in arena, basically a meadow, sometimes corralled, when the bulls face each other, if they hesitate to lock heads, and start to show sides (intimidation technique) the trainers often encourage their animals by stroking and speaking to them. they use no physical technique to make the bulls fight.
there are no fences, and the victorious bull doesn’t follow the defeated because people crowd around the animal to celebrate the victory. you can see the animal enjoys stroking and cheering and that in fact the bull itself is proud over its victory. the owner or a trainer sometimes stands or sits on the back of the bull for a photograph and the animal remains still. the owners take great pride in their animal. they feed them the best grass. the bulls are considered not only livestock but also pets. a successfull fighting bull can be very expensive, up to 10000 euros, or 14000 dollars. yes, 14000 dollars, not 1400.anyway here are links:
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