4/29/22 A Day in the Life at a Bull Farm

One of the things OAT tries to do is to help us see life through the eyes of local people. Bull fighting is still a big deal here, although it has become controversial and is banned in some areas, like Barcelona. It is an economically important enterprise, providing jobs to the people who raise the animals and the performers in the ring. Many people still find it entertaining. A bull raised for the slaughterhouse will sell for about 500 Euros, but the ones bought for major bullrings can bring in 10,000 Euros or more. 

All the cattle, (both males and females are called bulls), are assessed for their fighting propensity and the best ones are kept for breeding. Others go to the slaughterhouse for food. The females are used to train the toreadors while assessing their qualities. Bulls only fight once because they become to wise to the process if they survive a fight and are much more dangerous to the human fighters. The best bulls are not killed in the ring and return to their farms for a long life as a sire. Each sire will have a herd of 25-30 plus calves. 

The bulls are divided by age. They stay with their mothers for a year or so, and then move into 3-year old groups. At four and five, they prepared for the ring. Before this stage, they have a very lazy existence, but once the ring is in their future, the farm starts getting them to run at least 3km per day to build their musculature and stamina, so they can perform better. 

This farm also grows cork oaks and raises pigs who use acorns from another variety of oak as their primary diet.  Growing cork oaks is not for the impatient. Trees have to be 25 years old before they start to produce a thick enough bark to harvest. Bark is cut off the base of the tree typically to where it branches out every 9 years.

The farm we visited is unique because it is run by a mother and daughter. This is typically a very male dominated venture, but in this case, the grandfather decided his daughter was the best fit for the next generation and now her daughter is a major player in the operation. 

We observed some of the livestock
from the bus as we drove in, then 
boarded this trailer (you can see the
unpadded seats at the front) for an
hour or so jaunt through a chunk of
the 2000 acres of the farm.

The livestock in medium-sized groups was mostly
the three year olds.

Four and five year olds are kept in groups of 8-10.

The color of the beasts is irrelevant.

As we headed out to find sections 
of the herd, the tractor driver started
yelling like he was being sorely
injured, but he was called the herd 
for their feeding of these pellets to
supplement their grass diet. They are
so well fed on grass this time of year
that they didn't seem that eager for
this treat, which looks a lot like
a wine cork.

These boys are being encouraged to build muscle
by running a few laps, escorted by a dog and a 
couple horses.

This pig decided to help eat the pellets.
Iberian pigs are fed on acorns exclusively
for part of each year. The farm has both
cork oaks and acorn oaks. The pigs
prefer the acorn oak produce, but will
also eat acorns from the cork oaks.

We are inside the practice ring where the females
are testing and toreros are traine.

The best bulls are showcased here.

The practice ring from the home where we had lunch.

After lunch, we headed back to Seville and walked through part of Parque Marie Luisa. This is where the main Spanish pavilion for the 1929 World's Fair is located. It was said to have been built with building wings reaching toward the other pavilions as though it was wrapping its arms around its former colonies. It is now used for a variety of public offices.