Cruel sports

Blood sports
Barbaric games

Nature

Cruel sports refer to activities that involve the intentional infliction of suffering on animals or humans for entertainment purposes. These practices often prioritize thrill and spectacle over ethical considerations, leading to significant physical and psychological harm. Examples include bullfighting, dog fighting, and certain forms of hunting. The growing awareness of animal rights and welfare has sparked widespread condemnation and calls for regulation or prohibition of such sports. Critics argue that these activities perpetuate violence and desensitize participants and spectators to suffering, highlighting the need for a societal shift towards more humane forms of entertainment.

Incidence

Cruel sports, which provide amusement for people but agonizing death for animals (and sometimes humans), include bullfighting (for example, in Spain, Portugal, France, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Japan); fox hunting with hounds (for example, in the UK and the USA); hare coursing (England and Ireland); turkey shoots (USA); cockfighting (Cuba, Indonesia, Japan); deer hunting on horseback accompanied by hounds (France); cricket fighting (China); and wild pig-sticking (Germany).

Claim

All blood sports should be banned because it is never right to make a game out of killing another living creature.

Counter-claim

Country sports do involve the killing of animals, but so does eating meat and wearing leather. If it is accepted that animal farming is essential to produce food and to preserve the countryside, it must also be accepted that pests have to be controlled.