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Chinese bull trainer Wang Youxiu says he didn't realize Spanish bullfights end with the matador slaying the bull. Too cruel for Chinese bull owners, he says. 'We are too emotionally attached to our bulls,' he explains. 'Even when they get old, we don't kill them. We sell them to far-away places.'
中國馴牛師王優秀（音）說，他以前并不知道西班牙斗牛是以斗牛士將牛刺死而結束比賽的。他認為，對公牛的主人們而言，這樣做太殘忍了。王優秀說，“我們與牛有著難以割舍的感情。即使他們老了，我們也只會將他賣到遠鄉，絕不會屠殺他們。”
Though hardly a well known pastime, Chinese bullfighting has grown in tandem with the country's economy. Where farmers used to stage showdowns in fields for beer money, matches these days can involve purses as high as 50,000 yuan (nearly $8,000), and one town in Yunnan province - where the tradition was born - even has a new bullfighting arena.
中國式斗牛雖然算不上是一種廣為人知的娛樂活動，但這項比賽隨著經濟的發展也變得頗具人氣。過去，斗牛只是農民賺點零花錢的田間消遣，現如今，這項賽事的獎金已高達五萬元（將近8000美元），而作為斗牛比賽發源地的云南某小鎮甚至已專門為此新建了一座斗牛場。
But some animal-rights advocates think the Chinese sport ought to be halted because it's also cruel to pit bull against bull even if the bulls survive the fight. 'There shouldn't be any type of animal fighting or performing for human entertainment,' says Hua Ning, a Beijing manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The bulls 'may hurt themselves during the fight and the noisy crowds who are watching the fighting make the animals very stressful.'
一些動物權利保護人士認為，即使參賽的公牛能夠在比賽結束后幸存下來，但人們讓牛在角斗場上互相廝殺、一決勝負的過程也很殘忍，所以應該禁止這項運動。國際愛護動物基金會(International Fund for Animal Welfare)中國項目主任華寧說，不應該出于娛樂目的而進行任何形式的動物角斗或表演活動。她還表示，公牛可能在角斗中負傷，而觀戰的人群聲音嘈雜，這會讓角斗動物壓力倍增。
Some bulls do die in the Chinese-style bullfighting. Bull trainers say that one dominant bull, Optimus Prime, has killed one or two opponents with his fierce charges and maimed perhaps a dozen others so severely that they can't fight again. His fans say that shows he is 'meng'-a Chinese word that translates roughly as scary-fierce. 'This is a pretty dangerous sport,' says Mr. Wang.
的確有公牛在比賽中斃命。馴牛師王優秀稱，牛王擎天柱就曾用猛攻讓一兩位對手當場死亡，還曾使十幾頭公牛高度傷殘，他們后來再也無法參加比賽。擎天柱的粉絲們認為，這恰恰彰顯了他的“猛”。王優秀說，“中國的斗牛是非常危險的運動。”
University of Washington anthropologist Stevan Harrell explains that bullfighting has long been associated with Torch Festival, a harvest festival celebrated by China's Yi minority. The bull fights illustrate 'the spirit of sport and competition between and clans and communities and the importance of livestock in people's lives,' he says. There are also horse races and wrestling matches during the festival, he adds.
美國華盛頓大學(University of Washington)的人類學家郝瑞（Stevan Harrell）解釋說，斗牛一直是中國彝族人民在慶豐節日“火把節”上的傳統活動。斗牛比賽詮釋了運動精神，展現了宗族、部落間的競爭關系，也凸顯了牲畜在人們生活中的重要性。郝瑞補充說，在火把節上，除了斗牛，還有賽馬、摔跤等活動。
The bull trainers say they take good care of the bulls, which sometimes get gored during the fights. The ground around the bull fights in Damogu was littered with empty boxes of lidocaine hydrochloride, a local anesthetic, used for wounds. The trainers say they don't give the animals drugs to make them act more fiercely and they need to keep the bulls healthy to fight again and to work as farm animals between matches.
馴牛師稱，有時公牛在比賽中會被牛角劃傷，但他們都受到了悉心的照料。在大莫古斗牛賽場周邊，隨處可見鹽酸利多卡因的空盒子。鹽酸利多卡因是一種局部麻醉劑，馴牛師用它來為公牛的傷口止痛。但馴牛師稱，他們不會為了取得好成績而使用興奮劑，因為得保證公牛身體健康，這樣他們才能多次參加比賽，也能在沒有比賽的日子里干點農活。
In the past few years, promoters say they have tried to reduce violence. Trainers are forbidden from sharpening a bull's horns - though the rule didn't seem to stop some of them from doing just that at Damogu. A match is also called off after six minutes to stop the bulls from exhausting themselves. At that point, bull handlers tie a rope around a back leg of each bull. Then 10 men grab each rope and pull the bulls apart. Both bulls are declared winners and advance to the next round.
斗牛賽的組織人員說，過去幾年里，他們一直在嘗試降低比賽的暴力程度。比如，禁止馴牛師削尖牛角。盡管如此，在大莫古的斗牛賽上，還是有人無視禁令，為了勝利鋌而走險。再比如，如果雙方對峙了六分鐘還未分出勝負，比賽就會終止。馴牛師這時會用繩索套住牛的一只后腿，10名男子一起用力拉繩子，強制將兩頭牛分開。這種情況下，雙方都算勝出，晉級下一輪比賽。
That isn't sufficient, says Kitty Block, vice president for Humane Society International, who says 'traditions founded on animal cruelty need to evolve.' She suggests celebrating cultural history 'in dance and music where the animals are an element' in the performance. She points to England where hunting foxes with hounds was banned - though not completely - as an example of customs that change with the times.
但國際人道協會(Humane Society International)副總裁布洛克（Kitty Block）認為這些舉措是不夠的。她說，“這些基于動物虐待行為的傳統需要改進了。”她建議將動物元素融入舞蹈和音樂中，通過表演的形式歡慶傳統文化。她指出，英國已經禁止利用獵狗追捕狐貍的行為，雖然禁得不夠徹底，但這也算是傳統習俗與時俱進的例子。
Chinese Bull fight promoter Bi Jiangang, isn't convinced. 'We don't think it's a cruel sport,' he says. 'We really treat the bulls very well. The owners of the bulls even have a hard time sleeping if the bulls are sick.'
中國斗牛比賽的組織人員畢建剛并不贊同上述看法,“我們覺得這不是一項殘忍的運動，大家都善待自家的牛。如果牛病了，主人們會徹夜難眠。”
