In Defense of the Bullfight

“We cannot defend both the species’ right to exist and the right of individuals, since the survival of the species depends on the right to kill certain individuals.”

In In Defense of the Bullfight, Francis Wolff makes a provocative argument against the view that bullfighting is the ultimate cruel sport. Far from being a ritualised means of inflicting needless suffering, Wolff suggests, bullfighting is infused with a rich and complex ethical code that contrasts with our pat intuitions about animal suffering. To take this code seriously is to appreciate at a genuinely profound level the relations between animals and humankind.