Spain: Protests Against Bullfighting

Tens of thousands of Spaniards demonstrated on Sunday in favour of a nationwide ban on bullfighting.

In Madrid, protesters called for, among other things, stricter animal welfare laws and an end to state subsidies for the traditional fights.

According to the main organisers, the movement «Bullfighting is Violence», more than 40’000 people took part in the demonstration.

At the Puerta del Sol square in the centre of Madrid, around 500 activists broke matador lances from which a red dust streamed, symbolising the blood of the approximately 20’000 bulls killed each year in Spain at events often steeped in centuries-old tradition. Rally participants carried placards bearing slogans such as «Bullfighting: National Disgrace».

170 Organisations Against Bullfighting

The protest had been called by 17 organisations on the occasion of Madrid’s folk festival «Feria de San Isidro» (8 May to 10 June), at which bullfighting takes centre stage. Around 170 further organisations from Spain and abroad lent their support to the rally. Among other things, the demonstrators also demanded that all minors be banned from attending spectacles involving bulls and that children not be permitted to attend matador schools.

“It is backward that in the 21st century animals continue to be tortured for entertainment, and that this is even funded with public money,” said spokesperson Laura Gonzalo of “Bullfighting is Violence.”

Constitutional Court Overturns Catalan Ban

In 2017, the conservative government reduced VAT on bullfighting to ten percent. Bullfighting was declared a “national cultural heritage” in Spain in 2013. The so-called corridas can therefore be subsidised with public money.

In Catalonia, the regional parliament banned bullfighting in 2010. However, in 2016, the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled that this ban was not legally valid. The regional government had thereby exceeded its powers, the ruling stated. Nevertheless, fights rarely take place in the northeast of the country, and most arenas were repurposed long ago. More on animal rights.