Spanish region set to ban bullfighting
Catalan parliament prepares to vote on law giving fighting bulls the same level of protection from cruelty as other animals
17-12-2009 Giles Tremlett in Barcelona, The Guardian, UK
Bullfighting looks set to be banned in part of Spain as the Catalan parliament prepares to vote tomorrow to prohibit one of the country's most emblematic, and bloodiest, traditions.
Bullfighter Salvador Barberan. Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/AP
In a move that campaigners hope will mark the beginning of the end for bullfighting in the country that invented it, a petition with 127,000 signatures was delivered to the region's parliament earlier this week.
Under local laws, the parliament must first vote on whether to accept the petition and then draw up a law, which would be subject to a second, definitive vote in several months' time.
The law is likely to be passed, with minority separatist and far-left parties in the region committed to supporting the ban, while the major parties allow their deputies to vote freely. Separatists claim bullfighting is not a native Catalan tradition.
Deputies have made it clear that, while they may ban bullfights, they will not prohibit local Catalan fiestas in which bulls are chased through the streets and tormented, sometimes with balls of fire attached to their horns.
The petition calls for a change in Catalonia's animal cruelty law that would see fighting bulls, which are currently excluded, protected from any kind of torture.
"If the deputies are going to behave like proper representatives of the people, then they must accept the ban," said Manuel Cases, of the Catalan Animals Rights Association. "Seventy percent of Catalans are against bullfighting."
The move has sparked an impassioned debate in a country where matadors are big stars. Bullfighting is referred to as "the national fiesta" and reviews are published in the arts, rather than the sports, pages of newspapers.
Among those battling for bullfighting to continue are a group of local artists and writers, including artist Miquel Barceló and theatre director Calixto Bieito.
"Banning the bullfight means banning part of our liberty," they said in a manifesto published today.
They are backed by a group of left-wing Spanish intellectuals who are unconditional supporters of celebrity matador José Tomás. Tomás has done much to revive enthusiasm for bullfighting in Barcelona and other parts of Catalonia recently after years of decline.
Campaigners hope, however, that if the ban goes ahead other Spanish regions will follows suit.
"Everywhere in Spain the majority of people say they do not like bullfights," said Cases. "Over time, this will have to be prohibited. Otherwise we will be back in the Stone Age."
(Bron: http://www.guardian.co.uk/)
(Bron foto: Guardian)
No comments:
Post a Comment