Sébastien Castella is going to massacre six bulls in Bayonne. Twenty associations* denounce this torture turned into a spectacle
Around forty bulls are going to be slaughtered in Béziers by Sébastien Castella in mid-August: once again we are up in arms!
From 13 to 17 August, during its Feria, Béziers will commemorate Sébastien Castella’s 25-year “career”. Once again (after Bayonne on 11 July), bulls are going to be massacred by this bullfighter. Our associations (apart from AVA) are once again up in arms.
On 11 July, Bayonne will host a bullfight to mark the 25th anniversary of bullfighter Sébastien Castella’s “career”, during which six bulls are going to be massacred. FLAC president Thierry Hely was present in the stands of the Béziers bullring on 12 August 2000, where he shot the film Juste pour le plaisir.
Today, One Voice and its partners* are releasing this film again to remind people of what bullfighting really is: the slow agony of animals wading through pools of blood. In a bullfight, everything must be shown! Otherwise, it’s too easy.
When culture and aesthetics serve as a pretext for the expression of sadistic impulses
On 12 August 2000, Sébastien Castella performed his “alternative”, his induction as a matador. To the cheers of the crowd, bulls were stabbed in the arena, agonising for long minutes, choking on their own blood before being finished off. Today, together with our partners, we are once again broadcasting Juste pour le plaisir (Just for Fun), which was filmed during this brutal ceremony.
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To mark this sad anniversary, which was announced at the Town Hall, a new bullfight is planned in the Bayonne arena. Behind the pomp and the costumes, this time six animals will be harassed, weakened and then killed in front of an audience that sometimes includes very young spectators being subjected to the show of willful infliction of suffering. This torture, which is banned everywhere else, will inevitably leave lasting and harmful scars on the psyche of these children and adolescents.
Customs can never justify torture
Bullfighting is nothing more than a slowly orchestrated torture, a spectacular agony inflicted on sentient beings. On several occasions we have investigated this outdated practice which is based on concealment and denial, as well as the schools that teach children to kill from an early age.
Reduced to the role of objects of entertainment to satisfy the suspicious and perverse urges of a ruthless audience in search of thrills, the heifers and bulls used in these events are peaceful and frightened, seeking only to survive, not understanding that their fate has been sealed in advance.
Our commitment goes beyond the cause of animals, those who are used to inflict injury as well as those who are killed. It also concerns the development of empathy in the youngest members of society. We advocate that minors, and in particular children, should no longer be allowed to attend such atrocities, and that bullfighting schools should be closed. We also campaign for a ban on all proselytising outside of the areas that are exempt, particularly at the Lutèce bullring in the heart of Paris.
In Bayonne and everywhere else: the French say no to bullfighting
For years, we have been organising coordinated national and unified actions to denounce this practice which is still tolerated in a few municipalities in the name of a supposed tradition, a premise that has been challenged on numerous occasions. In our fight against the barbarism of these aficionados, we receive, in city after city and year after year, the support of an overwhelming majority of French people —including in the regions concerned— people who want to put an end to this type of spectacle (which, incidentally, is less and less popular and whose funding is questionable).
As this bullfight in Bayonne approaches, numerous organisations, including those of the FLAC, of which One Voice is a member, are calling for an online mobilisation of citizens. It is time to make a simple truth heard: torture cannot be an art, let alone a cause for celebration.
* List of participants and partners in this online mobilisation:
Associations, foundations, collectives:
- ASPAS
- AVA France
- Code Animal
- Collective of Veterinarians for the Abolition of Bullfighting (COVAC)
- National Confederation for the Defence of Animals (CNDA)
- National Council for Animal Protection (CNPA)
- Convention of Life and Nature (CVN)
- FLAC (Federation for the Abolition of Bullfighting)
- Franz Weber Foundation
- Futur Asso
- The Animal Law, Ethics and Science Foundation (LFDA)
- No Bullfighting
- OABA
- One Voice
- PETA France
- PROTEC (Child Protection)
- National Society for the Defence of Animals (SNDA)
- Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA)
And in support of animal welfare associations and collectives:
Political parties:
- Les Écologistes [the Ecologists]
- Le Parti Animaliste [the Animal Party]
Specialised media:
- Savoir Animal [Animal Knowledge]
Around forty bulls are going to be slaughtered in Béziers by Sébastien Castella in mid-August: once again we are up in arms!
From 13 to 17 August, during its Feria, Béziers will commemorate Sébastien Castella’s 25-year “career”. Once again (after Bayonne on 11 July), bulls are going to be massacred by this bullfighter. Our associations (apart from AVA) are once again up in arms.