Bullfighting ban

The Catalonia region in northeastern Spain has opened the door on a possible ban on the Spanish tradition of bullfighting, agreeing to debate the issue and possibly tighten Catalonia's animal protection law.

The debate was brought before the court by the anti-bullfighting group Prou! (Enough!), which had collected 180,000 signatures in support of its legal initiative. On Friday, 67 regional legislators voted in favor of the preliminary ban, 59 voted against, and five abstained.

If a bill is passed to ban bullfighting, it would be the first region in Spain to do so. It would also lead to the closure of Barcelona's only operating bullring.

However, this is only the first step. In order to make a ban on bullfighting law, the proposal must go through the legislative process, and details of it could be altered before parliament votes in the final round next year.

A final decision may not be reached until April.

Cultural tradition vs. animal rights

At a debate prior to the vote, proponents of the ban said Spain's "national fiesta" was "cowardly" and referred to it as a form of animal torture.

Some defended the sport, arguing that fans had the right to see bullfights even if they were a minority in the region. Some are also reluctant to part with it as they consider it an important aspect of Spanish culture.

A group of 300 of Spain's leading personalities in the fields of culture, education and the economy published a defense of bullfighting in a "Manifesto for the Mercy of Freedom" on Wednesday.

"It's not just cultural, festive, traditional, social and economic factors that are in play: it's freedom itself," the manifesto said.

However, Prou representative Anna Mola argued that bullfighting was outdated.

"Making animals suffer for fun" did not fit in with "the new values of the society of the 21st century," she said.

Popularity waning

The popularity of bullfighting in Barcelona has gone down in recent years as evidenced by opinion polls and a decline in ticket sales, although top bullfighters such as Jose Tomas can still draw massive crowds.

In 2006, a poll revealed only 19 percent of Spaniards under the age of 24 had an interest in the tradition.

Bullfighting is still popular in many parts of Spain. Bullfights are also held in several Latin American countries such as Mexico and Colombia, as well as in southern France.

It has been illegal on the Spanish Canary Islands since 1991. However, the law did not specifically target bullfights, which were no longer taking place, but cockfights.

vj/dpa/Reuters

Editor: Kyle James