Ole no more? Spain’s Catalonia region moves toward banning bullfighting

Spanish region may say adios to bullfighting

BARCELONA, Spain — Lawmakers in Catalonia launched an impassioned debate Wednesday ahead of a vote on whether to ban bullfighting, weighing protecting animal rights against preserving a pillar of traditional Spain.

The vote was expected to be close in the local legislature in the northeast coastal region centered around Barcelona.

If the ban passes, Catalonia would become the first part of mainland Spain to ban the deadly ballet between a sword-wielding matador and a charging half-ton beast.

As debate got underway, protesters from both camps rallied outside parliament.

Bullfighting opponents carried posters with gory pictures of bleeding animals. One man covered in fake red blood carried a sign in English, “Stop animal cruelty, No more blood.”

Pro-bullfighting groups carried signs painted on the red and yellow Catalan flag, with slogans such as Libertad y Toros (Freedom and bulls).

The two groups traded taunts and heckled each other.

The practical effect of a ban would be limited: Catalonia has only one functioning bullring, in Barcelona, and it stages 15 fights a year that are rarely sold out. Nationwide, Spain holds roughly 1,000 bouts per season.

Still, bullfighting buffs and Spanish conservatives are taking the drama very seriously. They see a stinging anti-Spanish rebuke in a grassroots, anti-bullfighting drive that started last year and will culminate in the vote in the 135-seat Catalan Parliament.

Woolls reported from Madrid.