Spanish Fighting Bull

[Mugen]

The Spanish Fighting Bull is an Iberian cattle breed. It is primarily bred free-range on extensive estates in Southern Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries where bull fighting is organized. Fighting bulls are selected primarily for a certain combination of aggression, energy, strength, stamina and intelligence: a bull intelligent enough to distinguish man from cape would be too dangerous, too passive or lazy to charge would make no spectacle, without stamina it would tire before the fifteen minutes of the fight had passed etc.

Is Spanish fighting bull available in the US? I meant the Iberian cattle breed.

 

[michickenwrangler]

You would have a better chance of finding them in the Southwest, near the Mexican border where bull-fighting is still practiced. You may even have to go into Mexico.

The Texas Longhorns are a leaner, sleeker descedant of Iberian cattle.

 

[Mugen]

Thanks michickenwrangler! I was just curious.

 

[michickenwrangler]

A longhorn will be easier for you to find. They finish on grass better than Angus or Hereford. Another option may be a Corriente, a type of Mexican cattle that is small, quick and smart. They are used in roping and cutting because they are more agile and intelligent than English and French cattle, often crossed with Longhorns for more bulk and meat. Check out "Western Horseman" magazine, they usually run articles on cattle breeds in addition to horses and ranching

 

[Illia]

WOW someone after my own heart!

I hope you're still checking on this thread, because YES there are Spanish Fighting Bulls in the US.

Though they are not the perfectly conformed ones you see in Spain and do not originate from Spain, there are ones here who were imported from Mexico. I've had the pleasure of knowing quite a few breeders in the US of Mexican Fighting Cattle. There are about 30 ranches of them in CA, and a couple in TX. They are indeed amazing and intelligent animals. I'm actually in the process of getting a heifer from Texas, as well as a spare "used" bull from California. Since in both Texas and California, bloodless bullfighting (they don't kill or harm the bulls) is allow to an extent, the bulls are quite common to find if you look in the right places.

If you google for "Fred Renk," "Bloodless Bullfighting," or "Dennis Borba," you'll find good info. If you can't find enough, you can always PM me for more.

Fighting cattle are my absolute favorite.

One thing I will note on though is that the bloodless bullfighting community is pretty picky about who they contact and let have their cattle, also their cattle are pretty expensive because they're so valuable, so another way to get a similar animal is to look for Corriente Cattle. They're very shy because they're bred to be roped at rodeos, but if bred right, can have similar features to the fighting bull. After all, they also decent from Spain.

 

[ultasol]

I went to a French town called Camargue when I was interning elsewhere in the country. Located in the South of France, it is a seaside town where pink flamingos can be found with wild white ponies in the salt marshes. I went to a fighting bull operation there as it turns out that a form of bullfighting has historically been present in the Southern France. In France, the goal has never been to kill the bull, rather they would tie a ribbon between the bulls horns before turning him out into an arena. The young men of the town would try to get the ribbon, and the first to do so won.

It was very interesting, and the meat (for they do also eat this breed, despite their small size) was quite delicious.