01-29-2016, 07:03 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-30-2016, 05:23 AM by LPC.
Edit Reason: Typo
)
Indeed. Humans are not forced to wrestle; they choose to do it for money. But these poor animals do not choose to fight; they are starved and goaded into fighting.
This has nothing to do with culture or tradition - and even if it were, so-called "culture" never excuses cruelty. It is to do with the many tourists who go to watch and bring in big money for the organisers. The real reason is in the article:
"We are continuing the tradition of our ancestors," says Mehmet Falakali, one of the brains behind the festival, who has attended the event every year since Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched it in its current form in 1982." (Stress mine.)
Despite apparently breaking animal welfare laws in Turkey (especially starving the camels), the festival is sanctioned by the Government's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The motive is clear: to bring in tourist money.
This has nothing to do with culture or tradition - and even if it were, so-called "culture" never excuses cruelty. It is to do with the many tourists who go to watch and bring in big money for the organisers. The real reason is in the article:
"We are continuing the tradition of our ancestors," says Mehmet Falakali, one of the brains behind the festival, who has attended the event every year since Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched it in its current form in 1982." (Stress mine.)
Despite apparently breaking animal welfare laws in Turkey (especially starving the camels), the festival is sanctioned by the Government's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The motive is clear: to bring in tourist money.
