Another Nail in the Coffin of the Bullfighting Industry

The bullfighting industry is in steep decline: 93% of 16- to 24-year-olds in Spain say they don’t support bullfighting, and the practice faces staunch opposition from Spanish and European politicians as well as unwavering protests by animal rights groups, including PETA.

With hundreds of bullfights around Spain cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, bullfighting officials demanded a €700 million bailout from the country’s government. But as so many sectors of the economy are struggling to stay afloat – and after a big campaign by our friends at AnimaNaturalis and other groups – the government has refused to divert much-needed public funds to the morally corrupt blood sport. This is great news – there are countless better ways to use taxpayer money than to prop up a dying industry that tortures and kills animals.

In another last-ditch attempt to save the beleaguered industry, bullfighting lobbyists are in talks with Telefónica-owned Movistar – the largest telecommunications brand in Spain – about broadcasting closed-door bullfights around the world on its bullfighting channel, Toros. PETA, along with more than 800 other animal protection groups from 15 countries, has written to the president of Telefónica, urging him to reject any plans to air the ritualistic killing of bulls.

Every year, thousands of bulls endure a slow, painful, bloody death in bullrings across Spain: men on horseback and on foot drive lances and barbed sticks into each bull’s back before the matador stabs the tormented animal with a sword or dagger. Propping up this cruel “sport” is inexcusable.

A bloodstain on Spain’s rich and diverse culture, bullfighting must be relegated to the history books. Culture is not an excuse for cruelty, and traditions must adapt to end the torture of animals. Join us in calling on the country’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, to ban bullfighting:

Ban Bullfighting

Jo-Anne McArthur | We Animals