Catalonia to vote on bullfighting ban

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3

Animal lovers in one corner of Spain are ending the year on a happy note. The Parliament of Catalonia has agreed to vote on whether to ban bullfighting. It is already relatively unpopular among Catalans but anti-bullfight activists had to fight for years just to get the subject before legislators. Now they say they’re confident the blood sport will soon be banished from Catalan arenas forever. The World’s Gerry Hadden reports. (Audio available after 5PM Eastern)

• BBC coverage

Read the Transcript
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

MARCO WERMAN: Bullfighting has been part of popular culture in Spain for more than one thousand years.  But that could be changing, at least in some parts of the country.  Lawmakers in Catalonia have agreed to consider whether to ban bullfighting altogether. That’s a victory of sorts for animal rights advocates who have long campaigned against the sport. But it also says something about bullfighting’s dwindling popularity in Northeast Spain. The World’s Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona.

GERRY HADDEN: Up until now Catalonia’s regional parliament has backed away from the bullfighting issue.  But under pressure from animal rights groups, in December it voted to vote on a ban later this Spring.  So sensitive is the subject here that legislators  actually cast their ballots in secret. When the measure was adopted, activists wept.

ANONYMOUS WOMAN #1:  [Speaking Spanish]

HADDEN: This woman said for the first time in history animals have found a voice in Catalonia.  Politicians were under pressure from ordinary citizens as well.  Polls show that most people in Catalonia either oppose bullfighting or ignore it.  One Catalan politician recently pointed out that more people visited Barcelona’s Botanical Gardens than its bullring last year.

ANONYMOUS WOMAN #2: [Speaking Spanish]

HADDEN: This woman in Barcelona, says it’s a matter of common sense.  We shouldn’t accept such mistreatment of animals, she says, or that people enjoy watching as the bulls bleed and suffer.  Attendance at bullfights is down across Spain, but the sport is far from finished.  Many still see it as part of the nation’s cultural heritage. That is, something to be protected. Testifying before the Catalan Parliament was this young bullfighter named Serafin Marin.

SERAFIN MARIN: [Speaking Spanish]

HADDEN: He said, I became a bullfighter here in Catalonia.  I rose up through the ranks here.  Banning my profession now would be a tragedy. The bullfight debate in Spain is hardly new.  Spain’s Canary Islands banned Las Corridas 20 years ago.  But this latest chapter has  some sensitive political overtones. Tensions between Catalonia and the rest of Spain are high. Catalans want more autonomy. Some even want independence.  And for some, the bullfight is a symbol of the Spain they want to leave behind.  That angers conservative politicians like Rafael Luna.

RAFAEL LUNA: [Speaking Spanish]

HADDEN: In the recent Parliamentary debate, Luna said the leftist parties consider anything that smells or looks like Spain as an affront to their own culture. Those pushing for the bullfighting ban   maintain there are no anti-Spain undercurrents. The vote in Catalonia’s Parliament is scheduled for the spring.   If it passes,  what then for  local fans deprived of their mortal spectacle?

CARLOS LOPEZ: [Speaking Spanish]

HADDEN: If the bullfight is banned, says Barcelona resident Carlos Lopez, I swear I’ll spend my vacation money traveling to other parts of Spain or even France to see the fights.  For the World, I’m Gerry Hadden in Barcelona.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.