Here’s the poster (somewhat NSFW!) that animal rights activists have used in their campaign to ban bullfighting in Catalonia; the first such ban to be instituted on the Spanish mainland if it passes a vote in the Catalonia parliament on Wednesday. The vote — which is expected to pass — is the culmination of a year’s work by Catalonia animal rights activists, who gathered 180,000 signatures from around the world on a petition to ban the “sport” in this autonomous region of Spain. Celebrites such as Ricky Gervais and Pamela Anderson have joined the cause for what they hope will be the beginning of the end of the historic ritual. From The London Times:
Anderson, also a veteran animal rights activist, said: “The most appalling kind of cruelty is that which is perpetuated in the name of mere entertainment.”
Anyone who’s seen an episode of According to Jim know exactly what she’s talking about.
Bullfight ban vote looms
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To be fair, bullfighting was already a dying activity in Catalonia, which has only one active bullring and where the majority of residents are opposed to the sport. But activists see Wednesday’s vote as a stepping stone; if it passes, they will immediately step up efforts to ban bullfighting in other regions of Spain.
It’s hardly a fair fight. Bullfighting has been steadily losing popularity in Spain for the past decade — a 2006 Gallup poll showed that 80 percent of people under the age of 35 care nothing about it. Ironically, it’s mainly tourism that’s keeping it alive. Tourists visit Spain and feel that they have to see a bullfight in order to get the “genuine” cultural experience. (See: Reilly, Rick.).
Nine countries still allow bullfighting, with about 250,000 bulls killed each year; 60,000 occurring in Spain. But the sport seems to be on the way out everywhere; according to one study, 79.7% of Peruvian citizens living in Peru’s capital city of Lima oppose bullfighting.
Also, naked protests!
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Spain’s Catalonia Region May Ban Bullfighting [Huffington Post]
Catalan Parliament passes landmark vote to ban bullfighting [The Times of London]
Spain’s Catalonia expected to ban bullfights [MSNBC]
Rick Reilly runs with the bulls, and the result is another stupid Rick Reilly column [Out of Bounds]
