South Korean Activist Galang Supports To End The Bullfight Tradition

Illustration of bullfighting in South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/C big guy)

JAKARTA - The campaign to end traditional bullfights in South Korea is getting stronger, driven by growing public concerns and pressure from animal rights activists, as several municipalities have taken steps to withdraw funds for these events in response to changes in social values.

As of last July, an online petition submitted to the National Assembly calling for a ban on total bullfighting had collected more than 45,000 signatures of only 5,000 signatures less than the threshold required for a formal parliamentary review.

"The cows used in the bull fight suffered injuries and stress due to training and collisions. Some suffered from broken horns or internal injuries during the fight and were abandoned after the match," the petitioner wrote, launching The Korea Times September 1.

"Cows are not born to fight. There is no reason for them to be forced to hit each other for the sake of human entertainment," he added.

Although the Animal Protection Act prohibits injuring animals for gambling or entertainment, bullfighting is still excluded, as the law does not apply to activities categorized as "people's games."

However, in recent years, animal rights activists have increasingly questioned the reasons for the exception, arguing that bullfighting is no different from fighting dogs or horses bloody sports involving animals are different but similar in terms of cruelty.

Critics of bullfighting, including the progressive and minority Korean Greens, refer to it as another form of animal abuse.

While owners argue, the animals are generally well cared for and this practice represents a unique aspect of Korean heritage, which has strong roots in the country's cultural traditions.

However, public opinion shifted to the direction in favor of animal rights activists.

According to a recent survey by Hankook Research, 62.1 percent of respondents in the Gyeongsang region hosted the country's largest bullfighting event said they believed this practice had a negative impact on the values of children.

Amid increasing criticism of this practice, some local governments are considering whether to continue promoting it.

According to Animal Liberation Wave, one of the groups leading the campaign, five of the 11 eligible municipalities to host a bullfighting event in South Korea decided not to allocate a budget for such events this year, resulting in its cancellation.

"This happened after we, along with other animal rights groups and Green Party politicians, sent a petition urging them to stop funding such events," Jang Hee-ji, the group's campaigner, told The Korea Times.

"We will continue to push for change while focusing on the remaining six municipalities to completely stop it."

A joint investigative report released on June 26 by animal rights groups highlighted one of the most violent aspects of a bull fight: forcing a bull to fight and bloody beyond their will.

The handlers forcibly place the bulls face to face by pulling the ring of their nose before each fight, a process that often causes injury, according to the report.

Activists observing 131 games found in 54 matches, the bulls did not fight at all. Of the 77 fights that took place, 48 of them ended in bloody bulls.

The findings have intensified public scrutiny of these practices.

In January, the National Heritage Administration declared, responding to the controversy, they decided not to continue the planned review to establish bullfighting as a new national intangible cultural heritage.