Catalonia Outlaws Bullfighting

Bullfighting is a relic from the Roman arena, in which people get caught up in a blood lust by the torture and killing of bulls, mixed with the fear/anticipation that the matador could be gored.  And now, Catalonia has ended it legally.  From the Telegraph story:

Audiences have been dwindling in Catalonia for decades and the Monumental bullring, the last of three in the city to stage bullfights, rarely managed to fill a third of its seats and has struggled to turn a profit. The death knell came in July 2010 when Catalonia’s parliament voted to outlaw what many consider a barbaric practice, following a petition by animal rights’ group Prou! — Catalan for “Enough” – which collected 180,000 signatures.

The prohibition comes into force on January 1 next year but the end was marked with the close of the bullfighting season in Barcelona on Sunday. The ban triggered a furore across Spain and a nationwide debate over the quintessentially Spanish tradition that has inspired artists and writers including Goya, Picasso and Hemingway.

Well, those artists are dead and gone, and the animal abusing culture that they reveled in and celebrated, is dying too.  I’m glad for it.

Like dog fighting, there is no substantial human benefit in bullfighting—even if the bull is consumed—and much pain for the bulls.  Simple animal welfare principles make this the right move.  Good for Catalonia.