Spanish bullfighting ban: 'Finally, we've overcome this evil curse'

Men of Catalonia; no longer will you be pressured to wear pink or lavender tights, prance like sissies and have your nether regions placed in close proximity to angry cattle. Bullfighting has been banned! You may now test your manhood in other ways, such as taunting English soccer hooligans, or dressing in blackface for Formula One races. From the Wall Street Journal:

An absolute majority of 68 lawmakers of Catalonia’s Parliament voted in favor of the ban, with 55 voting against it and nine abstentions. The ban will take effect Jan. 1, 2012.

Catalonia is Spain’s second-most populous region after Andalusia and one of its wealthiest. It becomes the second Spanish region to forbid bullfighting after the Canary Islands outlawed it in 1991.

The ban in Catalonia follows a popular initiative against bullfighting that had collected 180,000 signatures, arguing that bullfighting is simply cruelty against animals. Pro-bullfighting activists have said the so-called corridas are part of Catalonia’s cultural heritage.

The ban should be extended to all of Spain, Joan Herrera, a lawmaker from the Initiative for Catalonia Greens party in the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, said in an interview.

“It’s not a question of [cultural] identity. It’s a question of being a modern society or not. I think making mistreating animals a spectacle is a sign of backwardness,” Mr. Herrera said.

Reaction throughout Spain has been mixed. From the Washington Post:

“There are other types of abuse that aren’t under attack… The Catalans voted how they did just because this is something Spanish.” He added that he did not foresee similar moves in other regions of Spain. — Fernando Masedo, Badajoz, Extremadura, head of the International Federation of Bullfighting schools.

“The art of bullfighting isn’t an art when there’s blood involved. They could go through the whole ritual without killing the bull. There are traditions that have to adapt to current times. Look at women in the workforce.” — Sira Bilbao, El Madrid, Asturias, 46, businesswoman.

“It really hurts because we’d gone a long time with no prohibitions. I feel really bad for the fans in Barcelona, which is a great bullfighting city and now they’ll have to go to France or somewhere else to follow the sport.” — Luis Villanueva, Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz.

“Finally, we’ve overcome this evil curse.” — Gerard Pujol, Tarragona, 43, estate agent.

“It’s ridiculous for bullfighting to be prohibited. Haven’t they realized the number of jobs that will be destroyed by this? And bulls are a classic part of Catalonia … I can’t understand this decision.” — Paco de Casas, Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, 73, retiree.

Note to ESPN: Do you feel good that Rick Reilly spent so much of your money to go to Spain and write a fluff piece on running with the bulls in Pamplona, when a real column about real people and divisive issues was right under his nose? Reilly’s column appeared just a few days before the Catalonia vote; an issue that has totally divided Spain and, oh, I don’t know, might have made for a great human interest story for a writer who still cares about what he does.
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Factbox: Spaniards react with passion to bullfight vote [The Washington Post]
Catalonia Votes to Ban Bullfighting [Wall Street Journal]
Spain’s Catalonia votes on bullfighting ban on Wednesday [Out of Bounds]
Rick Reilly runs with the bulls, and the result is another stupid Rick Reilly column [Out of Bounds]