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Spain's Catalonia votes to outlaw bullfighting
By Vanessa Romeo
BARCELONA | Wed Jul 28, 2010 7:53am EDT
(Reuters) - Lawmakers dealt the death blow to bullfighting in Catalonia on Wednesday, outlawing the centuries-old blood sport for the first time in a mainland region of Spain.
The result of 68 in favor, 55 against the ban was expected, since the Catalonian parliament had cast preliminary votes in December accepting a citizens' petition to stop bullfighting on the grounds that it constituted cruelty to animals.
In the debate, some lawmakers cited the declining popularity of bullfighting in Spain, where fewer people go each year to the arena to watch toreros in their gold "suit of lights" wield red capes and swords at close range against angry bulls.
"There are some traditions that can't remain frozen in time as society changes. We don't have to ban everything, but the most degrading things should be banned," said Josep Rull, member of parliament for the Catalonian nationalist party, or CiU.
Nine lawmakers abstained from voting in the debate in which animal activists concerned about the suffering of the bull argued against those who revere what they see as a bastion of Spanish culture steeped in colorful history.
Animal rights activists have pledged to spread the ban throughout the country. Anti-bullfighting groups gathered signatures from 180,000 Catalans, which forced parliament to vote on the matter.
"They have heard the outcry of a society that is reinventing its traditions," said Anna Mula, of the group Prou! (Enough!).
Highly ritualized bullfighting, in which the torero and his entourage use capes, lances and darts to subdue the bull and then kill it at close quarters with a sword, was made illegal in Spain's Canary islands in 1991.
"DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON"
For bullfighters and aficionados, the ring becomes a moving display of fear and courage which is central to Spanish culture and which caught the imagination of U.S. Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway who wrote "Death in the Afternoon" about bullfighting.
"It's not a cruel show. Completely the opposite. It's a show that creates art: where you get feelings and a fight between a bull and person, where the person or the bull can lose their life," renowned bullfighter Serafin Marin told Reuters.
Under the ban, which would come into effect in 2012, the last active bullring in Catalonia's capital, Barcelona, would shut down, as would the remaining few elsewhere in the region.
Some lawmakers cited Spain's ongoing economic crisis -- the country is just emerging from a deep recession -- as a reason to keep bullfighting alive.
A report by an industry group that lobbied against the ban said 100 million euros of tickets to bullfights are sold annually in France and Spain, and projected rising unemployment benefit payouts for Catalonia's government when bullrings shut.
The bullfighting industry includes manufacturing of the elaborate suits as well as specialized breeding of bulls, which can cost up to 10,000 euros apiece.
"Banning bullfighting at a time of economic crisis is madness," said Rafael Luna, member of parliament for the conservative Popular Party, during the debate.
(Reporting by Alice Tozer; Writing by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Peter Millership)
By Vanessa Romeo
BARCELONA | Wed Jul 28, 2010 7:53am EDT
(Reuters) - Lawmakers dealt the death blow to bullfighting in Catalonia on Wednesday, outlawing the centuries-old blood sport for the first time in a mainland region of Spain.
The result of 68 in favor, 55 against the ban was expected, since the Catalonian parliament had cast preliminary votes in December accepting a citizens' petition to stop bullfighting on the grounds that it constituted cruelty to animals.
In the debate, some lawmakers cited the declining popularity of bullfighting in Spain, where fewer people go each year to the arena to watch toreros in their gold "suit of lights" wield red capes and swords at close range against angry bulls.
"There are some traditions that can't remain frozen in time as society changes. We don't have to ban everything, but the most degrading things should be banned," said Josep Rull, member of parliament for the Catalonian nationalist party, or CiU.
Nine lawmakers abstained from voting in the debate in which animal activists concerned about the suffering of the bull argued against those who revere what they see as a bastion of Spanish culture steeped in colorful history.
Animal rights activists have pledged to spread the ban throughout the country. Anti-bullfighting groups gathered signatures from 180,000 Catalans, which forced parliament to vote on the matter.
"They have heard the outcry of a society that is reinventing its traditions," said Anna Mula, of the group Prou! (Enough!).
Highly ritualized bullfighting, in which the torero and his entourage use capes, lances and darts to subdue the bull and then kill it at close quarters with a sword, was made illegal in Spain's Canary islands in 1991.
"DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON"
For bullfighters and aficionados, the ring becomes a moving display of fear and courage which is central to Spanish culture and which caught the imagination of U.S. Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway who wrote "Death in the Afternoon" about bullfighting.
"It's not a cruel show. Completely the opposite. It's a show that creates art: where you get feelings and a fight between a bull and person, where the person or the bull can lose their life," renowned bullfighter Serafin Marin told Reuters.
Under the ban, which would come into effect in 2012, the last active bullring in Catalonia's capital, Barcelona, would shut down, as would the remaining few elsewhere in the region.
Some lawmakers cited Spain's ongoing economic crisis -- the country is just emerging from a deep recession -- as a reason to keep bullfighting alive.
A report by an industry group that lobbied against the ban said 100 million euros of tickets to bullfights are sold annually in France and Spain, and projected rising unemployment benefit payouts for Catalonia's government when bullrings shut.
The bullfighting industry includes manufacturing of the elaborate suits as well as specialized breeding of bulls, which can cost up to 10,000 euros apiece.
"Banning bullfighting at a time of economic crisis is madness," said Rafael Luna, member of parliament for the conservative Popular Party, during the debate.
(Reporting by Alice Tozer; Writing by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Peter Millership)
Well, thank fuck, it was about time, you evil bastards!
This post has been edited by Aptorian: 28 July 2010 - 04:49 PM
