Protests over opera which stars live Bull

FOLLOWING performances in France which attracted complaints not only from animal rights protesters but also members of the cast who felt underpaid, the Opera Moses and Aaron which is due to be performed in Madrid for a three week run has seen a petition gather more than 40,000 signatures as it includes a live bull.

According to the petition, the bull which is on stage for 15 minutes is likely to be subjected to stress whilst on stage and discomfort as it will be subject to daily transfer from its quarters to the theatre and back. In addition there is the fear (since denied) that it may be sedated in order to keep it docile.

The petition calls on the Ministry of Culture to either ban the performances outright or require that the live bull is replaced with a statue.

A report in El Pais suggests that the owner of the animal named Easy Rider earns €5,000 for each performance and due to the weight of the animal the stage in Paris had to be reinforced.

Little has been made of the fact that the bull appears in a scene with a naked woman, although some people believe that to be somewhat inappropriate as well.

The French protests had little effect on the staging of the performances and time will now tell whether Spanish animal rights campaigners are any stronger than their French counterparts.