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In moments of frustration and anger, many of us demonize an entire country when we learn about the atrocities they commit against animals, but those feelings are misguided. Only a small percentage of people in any country participate in the abuse, and most are probably unaware. In addition, whatever country we happen to call home is probably committing abuses that are every bit as bad, so why point a finger?  Every nation is culpable:

The French insert tubes down the throats of ducks and force feed them:

The Spanish set some bulls on fire and chase others through city streets:

photo: Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty Images

The Chinese skin animals alive for fur:

Americans lasso young animals, wrestle them to the ground and twist their necks at rodeos:

Canadians club baby seals:

Africans tear the tusks out of elephants’ faces:

Photo: Mark Deeble & Victoria Stone

Australians hack flesh out of sheep to keep insects out of their wool:

Mexicans stab bulls to death to cheering crowds:

The Danish drive pilot whales into the shore and butcher them:

Photo: Sea Shepherd

The Japanese shoot harpoons with explosives into protected whales and serve animals at restaurants who are still alive:

Photo: sundayworld.com

This list goes on. Instead of vilifying entire countries, which does nothing to help their animals, we should target our anger – and energy – toward those who commit the atrocities and the authorities who have the power to stop them.

It takes place once a year in Spain, and it’s one of the most sadistic traditions on earth. It’s not the running of the bulls, where thrill seekers chase terrified bulls down the street. And it’s not a bullfight, where matadors torment bulls before stabbing them to death in front of a cheering  crowd. This event, which takes place in the town of Medinaceli during the second week of November, is called Toro Del Fuego — Bull of Fire.

During the Toro Del Fuego, also known as Toro Jubilo (jubilant bull), participants drag a bull through the streets, insert balls of turpentine and sulfur into his horns and set the balls on fire. The frantic bull is released in the town square where he smashes his horns against the walls in an attempt to douse the bonfire on his head. Bulls who don’t die during during ritual are slaughtered for meat when it’s over.

The “festival” dates back 400 years, but it was banned for 15 years in the 60’s and 70s’ on the grounds of animal cruelty. Participants defend the festival, saying that the animals don’t suffer.

Listening to the bulls wail in agony is every bit as difficult as watching their desperate attempts to douse the fire that engulfs them. Please sign on to the letter to the Pope asking him to speak out and to the petition to the officials in the region of Spain where the festival is held.

On September 13th, approximately 45,000 activists marched through the streets of Madrid and broke makeshift spears in half in a ceremony called “Rompe Una Lanza” (translated: break a sword). The activists were protesting an annual ritual called “Toro de la Vega” in which over 100 men chase down a bull and slowly spear him to death. The ritual takes place on Tuesday (9/16) in Tordesillas, a town 118 miles northwest of Madrid.

THE PROTEST

THE RITUAL

The Spanish activist group PACMA (Political Party against Mistreatment of Animals in Spain) says that, during the Toro de la Vega, “one hundred or more men harass the bull with their thrusting lances until the poor animal, who is bleeding profusely and riddled with holes, can go no further. As he collapses, someone cuts off his testicles. It is a slow form of torture, watched by a rowdy spectators, including parents who take their children.”

To learn more about “Toro de la Vega,” please visit SHARK, which translated the PACMA’s description of the barbaric ritual into English. And sign the petition.