June 4, 2025, 4:37 pm | Read time: 4 minutes

Bloody sword, matador outfit, and a compelling appeal: Uwe Ochsenknecht raises his voice for an animal rights campaign by PETA against bullfighting in Mallorca.

Controversial Bullfighting in Mallorca

The background of the campaign is the bullfighting in Mallorca, which resumed in April 2025 after a one-year hiatus. Particularly controversial: For the first time in decades, minors were allowed to participate–a development that many sharply criticize. The bloody event in the Inca arena sparked widespread protests.

Ochsenknecht himself visits the island regularly and now uses his fame to take a stand: “Please do not support bullfighting in any form! This is not a tradition worth preserving–this is animal cruelty, everywhere!” the actor said in an interview about the Peta campaign.¹

With the campaign, he aims to raise awareness of the cruel bullfights and reach tourists in Mallorca. Because “bullfighting is also a very political issue in Spain. Therefore, the public also has influence, because the more demonstrations take place, the more media report on the cruelties, and especially the fewer people attend the fights, the higher the chance that bullfighting will eventually become a thing of the past.”²

For the staging of the campaign, Peta could not have chosen anyone better than star photographer GABO. She herself lives on the island part-time, is a committed animal lover, and has supported Peta for several years.

This Cruel Reality Unfolds in the Arena

What many consider a tradition means unimaginable suffering for the animals. The ordeal for the bulls begins even before the actual fight. They are isolated in dark stalls, leading to enormous stress.

Once in the arena, they face a brutal fight to the death. Weakened by dagger and lance stabs, matadors then attempt to kill the animals with a sword. Before the heart is struck, there are often mis-stabs, according to reports. If the lung is hit, the bull “drowns” painfully in its own blood. In the end, a knife severs the spinal cord, and sometimes ears and tails are cut off–sometimes while the animal is conscious.

The meat of the animals is tested and–if deemed safe–sold in restaurants. Bulls considered not aggressive enough never reach the arena and are killed directly in the slaughterhouse.

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Public Rejection Grows

The normalization of this violence also has serious consequences for humans, according to the UN. Children exposed to bullfighting could be permanently affected in their perception of violence. Despite these warnings, it is legal in Spain for children as young as ten to learn to handle the sword in bullfighting schools. At 14, they can even perform as matadors.

But criticism of the practice of bullfighting is increasing: According to surveys, 81 percent of the Spanish population shows no interest in bullfighting and does not support it. Resistance is growing–more and more people are advocating for a ban, such as with initiatives like “No es mi cultura” (“It is not my culture”), which has already collected over 700,000 signatures across Spain for the abolition of bullfighting.

Yet bullfights still take place not only in Spain but also in several countries like France, Portugal, and South American states such as Venezuela, Peru, and Ecuador. Mexico recently banned bloody bullfights. A partial success, but the practice itself is still allowed. In Spain alone, several tens of thousands of animals die annually under agonizing conditions.

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Peta Against Speciesism

The animal rights organization Peta also highlights a deeper issue with the campaign: speciesism–the discrimination of living beings based on their species. While some animal species like dogs and cats are treated lovingly, others–such as pigs, cattle, or fighting bulls–experience systematic violence.

Peta emphasizes: “Animals are not here for us to eat, experiment on, wear, or use for entertainment.” The organization fights against all forms of exploitation and calls for all animals to be treated with the same respect.