Bullfighting ban in Spain?

In a country where 13,500 bulls killed a year in arenas for sport, independent regions are slowly voting to ban bullfighting. On Tuesday, the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia voted to ban bullfighting, beginning in 2012, in a law passed by a larger margin than expected: 68 to 55, with 9 abstentions. Catalonia was one of the first places bullfighting was used as entertainment.

Vicente Barrera, the bullfighter says it is more about politics than culture. “Bullfighting is an art, and Catalonia is abandoning for ridiculous political reasons the tradition and culture that makes Spain so special,” he said.

“This is not an attack against Spain but evidence that we, Catalans, support and share more advanced values with the rest of Europe,” said Josep Rull, a lawmaker from the Convergence and Union party. “We can be proud to have demonstrated today that Catalonia has a more dignified and respectful society that believes in eliminating the torture and suffering of animals.”

“This is a historic day for all those who have worked to promote animal rights in a modern society like ours,” said José Ramón Mallén, a of Fundación Equanimal, an animal rights organization. “This is not about politics and Catalan identity, but about ethics and showing that it’s simply wrong to enjoy watching an animal getting killed in public.”

Animal rights aside, the catalyst for the ban is financial desperation. Bullfighting has been losing its funding consistently over the years, even being subsidizes by the government to keep up with culture. Local governments, however, are getting squeezed dry, and voting to cut bullfighting funds. Bullfight has dropped over 33% in just the past three years as citizens lose interest, animal rights groups protest and locals lose money to an industry no longer lucrative in its pursuits.