Spain's Catalonia region has consigned bullfighting to the History books as the local parliament voted to ban the traditional spectacle.


Opinion on bullfighting is split in Spain


Campaigners have been upping their protests by confronting matadors inside the ring as they face the raging bulls.

They have even stripped off to stage naked demonstrations.

According to its detractors, the traditionalists who enjoy bullfighting are actually practising an outdated and barbaric form of entertainment.

Opinion in Spain is split. In some areas, spectator levels have been consistently falling; elsewhere big new arenas are being built to keep up with demand.


One community after another will accept bullfights are barbaric and have no place in a modern and ethical society.

Equanimal's Alessandro Zara
At 67, Frank Evans is Britain's - and possibly the world's - oldest bullfighter.

He said Catalonia's decision to ban the bullfight is linked to its desire to be separate from Spanish traditions.

Known in Spain as El Ingles, he told Sky News: "Catalonia is a very individual place... Their resentment of all things Spanish goes back to the days when they were persecuted by Franco."






The vote was triggered after a petition was signed by 180,000 Catalans. It was organised by a campaign group called Prou! - which means Enough!

The decision has raised the hopes of protesters who would like to see a complete ban even though bullfighting exists far beyond Spanish borders in France, Portugal, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia.

Alessandro Zara, from Spanish animal rights group Equanimal, said a worldwide ban would one day be a reality.

He said: "We will see it on our lifetime.

"One community after another will accept bullfights are barbaric and have no place in a modern and ethical society."

Now Catalans have voted to outlaw bullfighting, it is expected to disappear in the region by 2012.

Sky News

Good news, it was nothing but blood lust and pathetic inhumanity.

i signed a petition for this also

In the meantime, the Tories are talking about bringing back fox hunting.. although they've been quiet on that since joining up with the lib-dems..

It's strange how your personal opinions are divided. I agree with some hunting but I have always been against bull fighting and passionately opposed to whaling.

A very emotive subject, no animal should be killed for sport or to satisfy the blood lust of man. Though i am against the hunting of Whales, because i fear a species loss eventually, i can understand some nations view them as a food source with other by products, it would be hypocritical of myself and many of us to call for the total banning on Whale hunting while we still farm and eat meat.
Hopefully one day, all sports that cost an animals life will be banned.

Good news, I too am against any sort of sports that inflict injury or death to any animal, but before everyone gets on their high horses, the conditions we keep most of livestock bred for human consumption in, is abysmal and totally in-humane.

I still eat meat and have no plans to stop, but I never forget, and cannot help but feel guilty, at the conditions the animals are kept in. Bullfighting is just the tip of a very large iceberg in the grand sceme of animal cruelty. I guess the only difference is bullfighting is completely needless, whereas with regards breeding animals solely for food, there is pretty much no other way.

I agree with Matt!! lol
seriously tho... our own abattoirs have been exposed they show shocking animal cruelty before they are actually slaughtered
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/pr_slaughter/ALL/2188//
while we are glad that bullfighting may be banned all over Spain. I think this country should clean up our own act of cruelty to animals as well.
p.s Fox hunting should stay banned imo