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Barcelona Declares Itself an Anti-Bullfighting City

> In View of the Forum 2004

> Origins of Bullfighting

> Between Tradition and Animal Rights


dimarts, 20 d'abril de 2004
The past 6th April Barcelona was on the front page of the major national and international media after the City Council approved a declaration opposing bullfights and favoring animal rights. Barcelona declared itself an anti-bullfighting city, in a decision that has revived the controversy between those who are in favor of and against bullfighting.

In a secret vote, the Barcelona City Council approved the declaration with 21 votes in favor, 15 against and 2 abstentions. The fact that the vote was secret already indicates quite clearly that bullfighting arouses intense feelings that are at odds with one another.

Of course the decision by the Barcelona City Council was welcomed by the associations in defence of animal rights, while it was strongly contested by bullfighting enthusiasts.

Nevertheless, in fact the declaration opposing bullfighting is not equivalent to a prohibition. We must bear in mind that the Generalitat of Catalonia, which has already announced the creation of a panel of experts to analyse the future of bullfighting, is the body that has the authority to possibly prohibit such activity.

Last year the Parliament of Catalonia unanimously approved the Animal Protection law, which included prohibiting entry to bullfights for children under 14 and considers that animals have not only physical, but also mental, awareness.

In View of the Forum 2004


+ Barcelona has been declared an anti-bullfighting city before the Forum 2004.
It is true that the controversial declaration in opposition to bullfighting was promoted by the Association for the Defence of Animal Rights (ADDA) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), which the past 25th March submitted nearly 250,000 signatures to the Mayor of Barcelona, Joan Clos, in opposition to holding bullfights, at least during the Forum 2004, which will be held in the Catalan city from 9th May to 26th September. These signatures included citizens and associations from over thirty countries, who believe that the values the Forum aims to promote are not at all compatible with bullfighting.

Origins of Bullfighting


+ Bullfighting was promoted during the reign of Ferdinand VII.
The historical precedents of bullfighting go back many centuries. However, bullfighting (tauromachy), understood as a series of rules and conventions that regulate bullfights, dates from the end of the 17th century. At this time, bullfighting as we understand it today began with the introduction of the first treatises on tauromachy. At any rate, the promotion of bullfighting schools and the definitive support for this activity occurred during the reign of the Spanish monarch Ferdinand VII (1814-1833), precisely when public spectacles with bulls were prohibited in most of Europe. At that time, they were considered to be opposed to the values of the Enlightenment, a current of thought in fashion that trusted in reason to ensure a happy future for all of humanity, which would be freed from war, superstition and intolerance.

Between Tradition and Animal Rights


+ The enthusiasts of maintaining bullfights appeal to tradition.
The enthusiasts and supporters of maintaining bullfights appeal to history. For this sector, bullfighting is a tradition that is firmly rooted in the country, and therefore it should be conserved. Those who defend prohibition, on the other hand, sustain that one should not use tradition to defend the torture of animals, and much less so if this torture becomes a spectacle. Between these two positions, there are others who state that they are clearly opposed to bullfights, but prefer not to prohibit them, and trust that with the passing of time they will finally cease to exist.

MATERIALS

QUE HO SABIES?

  • Although Barcelona is the first metropolis to declare that it is opposed to bullfighting, it must be pointed out that the City Council of Tossa de Mar (la Selva) was the first in the country to approve such a resolution, the past decade.
  • In our country, the first bullring dates from 1834, and it was built precisely in Barcelona, in the coastal neighbourhood of La Barceloneta. Christened with the name of El Torín, it had room for thirteen thousand spectators.
  • The next year, in 1835, there was a public disturbance that extended throughout Barcelona and through several towns of the Principality of Catalonia. The uproar, known as the 'Crema de Convents' due to the fact that it concluded by setting fire to the major monasteries and convents in Barcelona, began in the El Torín bullring. Why? It seems that the bull was docile, so the bullfight was a failure, but it roused the passions of those present.

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> Campanya contrària a la tauromàquia.
> Campanya favorable.
> Els tres eixos definidors del Fòrum 2004.
> Una visió negativa de la pràctica taurina.
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