Is behavioural change just Bull?

Why is it that practises that feel as if they belong in the Stone Age are being carried out in the 21st century? Will we change our behaviour or is cultural traditions how we define ourselves even today? The clash of cultural rights and animal liberation continues. Animal Liberation, 1975 written by Australian philosopher Peter Singer. Almost forty years since the publication of his book. "The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But, can they suffer?" (Curry, 2011: 44). What will make people who commit such acts stop and change their behaviour? They need to reflect their traditions, religious practices brought from the past and re-assess whether these practises are unethical. However it is not asking people to forget their cultural heritage and remove themselves from the culture.
Figure 1, Zulu Men killing a bull with only their hands. (animalrightsafrica.org)
Figure 1, Zulu Men killing a bull with only their hands. (animalrightsafrica.org)
Is it possible to change our behaviour or are we just too egoistic to think other earthlings can suffer from our actions? Generally we consider ourselves ethical now that we have passed the ‘enlightenment’ era. However these practises illustrate we are still in Anthropocentrism through the usage of the expanding moral circle (van den Berg, 2012). The people who are involved in such activities are educated, they have asses to information, many holding well-paid jobs in the cities. Animal cruelty is something that should be found disturbing to every human being. I was able to be “well informed” of what the impacts were of my actions I changed them. Our behaviour needs to change, no matter where in the world you live.
Let’s take for example the “Umkhosi Ukweshwama”, a traditional Zulu cultural event which involves the killing of a bull to thank God for the first crops of