I'm not a big fan of vd either, my ex in Chile used to employ it when addressing her dad! It was in Pinochet era, mind.

No rarely that I do, but we have Spanish friends that we have known for many years, and he still uses usted when writing to me. Old school, like me, I guess!

my dh & kids are sitting cheering the bulls at the moment

it's a programme showing clips where the bull 'wins'

That used to be said of foxhunting with hounds in the UK too don't forget. In the early 80s I was active in hunt sabbing...and the anti-hunt movement had been going vociferously for over 40 years before the ban came into force. In time, in time...

... and hunting has never been more popular and foxes have never been killed in such high numbers... all thanks to the Anti's.... now they think they have fought the good fight and won, almost no anti's bother turn up at all, in fact around here the hunt "monitors" turn up, check in with the Hunt Master and bugger off home.

Must be wrong, Barca has 100,000 at there games alone.

The bous were looking very happy in our local plaza today.

Purebred specimens out for a bit of exercise?????

Thank god we were in a cage outside a bar.

Matt, the idea that foxes will be an endangered species is a tad unfamiliar to me. Stopping them being killed wasn't the idea, - killing a pest is fair enough. It's the means that was so unpleasant. Shooting the damn things always was the most effective method IMO.

Quite agree,and it doesn't leave the Brits with much of a case for complaining about Spanish blood sports.

Absolutely.... but the foxes are still dying in the same manner as before, the only difference is that the Anti's no longer create a fracas.

On another talk board a question was asked "Which animal would you like to come back as?"
I considered the options for various animals in Europe. Perhaps a pet dog or cat? No, I'd probably have my gonads cut off. A farm sheep, chicken or pig? No way, especially if I was factory-farmed, plus I'd be slaughtered in my first year or two. A wild bird? Very dodgy, if the cats didn't get me, the first cold winter probably would. A race-horse? Just avoid breaking your leg on a jump.
Anyway I soon realised that the life of a fighting bull in Spain (if you ignore the last 20 minutes) is probably one of the better options! There are better options (maybe a polar bear, an elephant or a penguin) but the life of a fighting bull is probably better than most animals in lands controlled by the human race. Which doesn't say a lot about us

Yeah, but the point is, foxes kill your stock, and I have lost a lot of chickens to them in the past. They are almost as common as rats and do a lot of damage, so I would shoot any near my henhouse without a second's thought.

What I hated about foxhunting was the way all the holes were stopped, and should it finally get safe down a hole, it was dug out and thrown to the dogs. Not, IMO terribly sportsmanlike. At least on a shoot the pheasants get a chance at freedom, and they aren't all hunted down to the last bird.

I do agree with you about PETA, but they to me have always reeked of the quasi religious desire for power over people. A bit like the feminazis who have no interest in equality and fairness for all, but instead want power.

[QUOTE=bil;8536412]Yeah, but the point is, foxes kill your stock, and I have lost a lot of chickens to them in the past. They are almost as common as rats and do a lot of damage, so I would shoot any near my henhouse without a second's thought.

What I hated about foxhunting was the way all the holes were stopped, and should it finally get safe down a hole, it was dug out and thrown to the dogs. Not, IMO terribly sportsmanlike. At least on a shoot the pheasants get a chance at freedom, and they aren't all hunted down to the last bird.

I do agree with you about PETA, but they to me have always reeked of the quasi religious desire for power over people. A bit like the feminazis who have no interest in equality and fairness for all, but instead want power.[/QUOTE


I'm coming back as Rusty our beloved collie who died intact at 18 years old in front of the Rayburn in Orkney.

You seem to be forgetting that a lot of cattle are raised for bull-beef these days,so they don't lose their credentials at an early age,many live a natural outdoor life and are then despatched as humanly as possible, rather than being tortured and stabbed to death.
However even better is the life of a stud bull running outside with 60 wives or so for his own personal pleasure or likewise a ram or tup as we call them enjoying a similar life of leisure and pleasure, whilst being extremely well pampered in between times....

Where have you been? The poor young cows often with their female calves are driven around to primtive village squares where they are tormented by kids of all ages with wooden swords in enclosed spaces watched by proud parents who have paid for the priviledge. The highlight of this torment is when a young bullock is put in wearing a crown of lighted candles and runs berserk as the hot wax runs into his eyes. Any cow or calve who tries to escape to the safety of the pen is severly beaten with long canes by their keepers and are left with blood streaked sides. This was still happening in Oliva when I left 7 years ago. Several young men have been killed over the years so there is some kind of justice.