Olé! Catalonia Takes Steps to Stop Bullfighting

The northeast Spanish province of Catalonia has made the first step toward banning the practice of bullfighting, a cultural phenomenon but also a sizable thorn in the side of animal rights activists.  —JCL

The Times Online:

Catalonia voted yesterday [Friday] to ban bullfighting, a move that campaigners claim could mark the beginning of the end of Spain’s most controversial sport.

Protestors dressed as slaughtered bulls stood outside the Catalan Parliament before 67 deputies voted for the ban, with 59 against. Five abstained.

The motion must pass a final vote next year before a ban comes into force.

Though the ban will put an end to bullfights, it will not prohibit street fiestas in which bulls are tormented, sometimes with balls of fire attached to their horns.

Read more

Flickr / S. Lo

An activist group called the Prou!, Catalan for “Enough!,” collected 168,000 signatures in persuading politicians to hold the vote to ban bullfighting.