Former king Juan Carlos cheers on bullfighting in San Sebastian

REMARKS made by former King of Spain Juan Carlos have made his support of bullfighting very clear. As a spectator in the front row of the San Sebastian bullring, the royal spoke to Television Espanola and described the activity as an “asset that we have to support.”
In 2012, bullfighting was banned in the northern city by the pro-independence party Bildu, but the ban had been overturned this year in May. The former monarch, who attended the bullfight with his daughter Princess Elena and his grandchildren Felipe Juan Froilan and Victoria Federica, summed up his first visit to San Sebastian´s bullring as “thrilling,” adding that his daughter and grandchildren “have always supported the national fiesta.”
In the past, Juan Carlos’s apparent fondness for big game hunting has drawn criticism and these new comments are unlikely to endear him to bullfighting opponents. In fact, around 200 protestors gathered outside the bullring, some opposing bullfighting and others protesting the monarchy and calling for an independent Basque Country.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Spain, an owner of several Spanish bullrings also made some controversial comments when he claimed that Gay Pride parades were worse than bullfighting and far more damaging to children. Business owner, Carlos Zuninga, owner of Taurinos Zuninga, told Europa Press that the “ancestral tradition” of bullfighting should be respected in the same way other fiestas are. Saying that he didn’t attend Gay Pride parades but still respected them, he also added, “That is what is harmful for children to watch.”