When Bulls Cry

When Bulls Cry: The Case Against Bullfighting is, as the title suggests, a work that puts the bullfight on trial and finds it guilty of extreme brutality and cruelty to animals. This is no legal brief, however. It is written from an historian's point of view. Michael A. Ogorzaly has researched the bullfight, from its origins to the present, and with this book he exposes the rot that pervades the bullfight world. From the writings of Ernest Hemingway to the videos of Madonna, nothing that espouses bullfighting is spared. Not even the Three Stooges escape his glare. Furthermore, notions of the bullfight's artistry and morality are debunked. Only those who have opposed bullfighting, from monarchs to writers to animal-rights activists, are treated gently. His intention is to dissuade the audience from ever attending a bullfight, the sooner to hasten its abolition.

The time is right for such a work. In France, a history of the bullfight in Europe was published recently by art historian Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier. Moreover, in April 2005, a proposal to ban bullfighting was introduced in the Parliament in Catalonia, an autonomous region of Spain. His Holiness the Dalia Lama, who backs the bill, also supports the WSPA (World Society for Protection of Animals) campaign, "Culture Without Cruelty." Other supporters of the campaign include Dr. Jane Goodall and Sir Paul McCartney. Obviously, the anti-bullfigting campaign is a worldwide one.

Ogorzaly's book is the first one like it in English. This work should be of interest not only to people concerned about the suffering of animals and the increase of violence in the world, but to anyone who reads cultural and intellectual history. The book could also be used as a text for college courses in Spanish and Latin American History as well as courses on Ethics or Animal Rights.