Advertisement
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.