SPAIN/ Catalonia's Bullfighting Ban the Beginning of the End for the Sport?

domenica 1 agosto 2010

 

 

In a 67-59 vote this week, Catalonia became the one of the first regions of Spain to ban bullfighting. Campaigners claim the ban could be the death knell of las corridas (bullfighting) in Spain, and the beginning of the end for Spain’s most controversial sport.

 

According to the Times Online, the ban, which would put an end to formal bullfights, would not prohibit street fiestas in which bulls are tormented and baited, sometimes with balls of fire attached to their horns.

 

The campaign to ban bullfighting, which has drawn worldwide attention and celebrity support, supported the motion, which called for a change in Catalonia’s animal cruelty law by collecting 168,000 signatures in favor. The change extends protection from torture to fighting bulls, who are currently excluded from laws against animal cruelty.

 

During the vote, protestors dressed as slaughtered bulls stood outside the Catalan Parliament.

 

The supporters of the ban are opposed by an equally high profile contingency that supports the traditional sport. Celebrity authors and artists have joined forces with the supporters of bullfighting, insisting that it has a cultural and traditional value that is integral to Spanish culture and liberty.

 

The media, aficionados say, has given their sport a bad reputation. They point to the dramatic representations in art, music, and writing that have made the event a romantic highlight of Spain’s cultural identity for centuries.

 

Another thumb on the scale is the recession. State-sponsored bullfights have become an unpopular outlet for tightening state funds.

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