The following is what Lord Nelson wrote about a bull fight which he
went to see in Spain:
"The amphitheatre will hold 16,000 people, and some 12,000 were
present. Ten bulls were selected, and one brought out at a time. Three
cavaliers on horseback and foot men with flags were the combatants. We
had what is called a fine 'feast,' for five horses were killed and two
men very much hurt; had they been killed it would have been quite
complete.
"We felt for the bulls and the horses, and I own it would not have
displeased me to have seen some of the dons (Spaniards) tossed by the
enraged animals.
"How women can even sit out, much less applaud, such sights is
astonishing. It even turned us sick, and we could hardly go through
it; the dead, mangled horses and the bulls covered with blood were too
much. We have seen one bull feast, and agree that nothing shall ever
tempt us to see another-"
This is what Nelson, the hero of many a grimly fought battle, has
written, and it shows how even a man accustomed to the sight of blood
and death can be horrified and disgusted at it when it is done as a
form of sport and at the cost of pain to dumb animals.
Scouts should always remember this in dealing with animals, and have
the same feeling which that prince of sea scouts, Nelson, had.
* * * * *