Matt Damon at a bullfight: Cultural or cruel?

Matt Damon was spotted taking in a bullfight this weekend. Will he attract the ire of PETA?

Move over, Kim Kardashian: A new celebrity is sure to get an earful from PETA soon. Matt Damon was spotted at a bullfight in Mexico over the weekend.

Not familiar with bullfights? PETA describes them as a cross “between a nimble, sword-wielding matador (Spanish for “killer”) and a confused, maimed, psychologically tormented and physically debilitated animal.” However, bullfighting has been a tradition in Spanish-speaking countries for centuries.

It’s only a matter of time before PETA hops on the criticism train.

Other celebrities have spoken out against the ancient game, calling it barbaric and unnatural.

“I think there is a difference between animals being humanely killed for meat and animals being tortured to death for fun. It’s the ‘enjoying it’ part I don’t understand,” Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais wrote on his blog in 2009.

“I have had several pets put down over the years when they were in pain with no quality of life,” he writes in his blog. “It was the right thing to do and yet on every occasion I cried. What a wuss. Next time, I will invite the food critic round… It’s only an animal, it was going to die anyway, may as well have a laugh. It may even become a tradition, and you can never end those.”

Actress and former Miss Panama Patricia De León also teamed up with PETA to speak out against her heritage’s tradition.

“Celebrating our culture is very important to me. But one thing I cannot support is the senseless killing of animals in bullfights. From the moment the bull enters the ring, he’s destined to die. Outnumbered, frightened, even drugged or injured, his death will be slow and painful,” she said in a 2010 PETA ad campaign.

No word how Damon feels about the sport. He is, however, getting ready to release a film that deals with furry creatures. We Bought a Zoo will hit select theatres this weekend ahead of its December release.

“Once in a while, we’re lucky enough to have a picture to which audiences of all kinds and all ages respond so strongly, that it demands a big and unexpected event. We Bought a Zoo is that kind of picture — and Thanksgiving is a great time to share it via this special very early preview,” Fox president and chief marketing officer Oren Aviv said.

Image courtesy WENN

Do you think Matt Damon was wrong or right to attend a bullfight?