Historic decision: Bullfighting abolished in Catalonia

Barcelona - Bullfighting will disappear in Catalonia, following a historic decision this morning in the regional Parliament in Barcelona that was followed with great interest both locally and outside Spain.

The ban, which is expected to encourage similar initiatives in other parts of the country, will be effective from January 1, 2012. It applies to La Monumental de Barcelona, the only bullring that operates in Catalonia, the morth-eastern Spanish region of 7.4 million inhabitants. The bullring operators will be compensated by the Catalan government in an amount estimated between 300 and 500 million Euros. It is anticipated that the bullfighting industry will sue the government of Catalonia because of direct damages caused by the ban and the heavy losses that this decision will cause to tourism, hotels, restaurants and the like. Animal right advocates say the affected parties demand compensation, according to El País (in Spanish). Of the 135 regional deputies, 68 voted for the abolition of the so-called Spanish national fiesta in Catalonia, while 55 voted against. Nine deputies abstained and one was absent.

Sergi Larripa

La Monumental bullring in Barcelona, Spain.

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At the time of the announcement of the vote’s result, the Catalan Parliament was divided between cheers of joy expressed by the anti-bullfighting members and the desolation of those who defended it. From the galleries, defenders of animal rights also reacted with enthusiasm, while people in favour of the old Spanish tradition who came to witness the voting, could not avoid being in tears. Although today is a historic decision in a country where the tradition of the bulls has lived for centuries, Catalonia is not the first region to prohibit the bullfighting fiesta. The Canary Islands did so in 1991, although at that time many years had passed since the last time a corrida took place.