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Spanish matador Daniel Luque
Catalonia
Catalonia bans bullfighting
The Spanish region has said “Enough!” to the traditional sport.
CATALONIA HAS become first region in mainland Spain to outlaw bullfighting, following a decisive vote in the regional parliament.
The vote was passed by a vote 68 to 55 with nine abstentions, meaning that Catalonia will join the Spanish Canary Islands (which outlawed it in 1991) in making the traditional sport illegal.
A public push to outlaw the bloodsport began in the region after a Catalan anti-bullfighting organization Prou! (Catalan for “Enough”) collected the signatures of 180,000 people who opposed the practice.
Some critics of the decision say that Catalonia is only using the issue as a way of asserting a separate Catalan identity, as the region wants independence from Spain.
This has been rejected by Prou! who pledged – before the vote was passed – that they would bring their fight to the rest of the country if they enjoyed a victory in Catalonia.
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