Animal Group Says that Coronavirus Should Lead to the Death of Bullfighting in Spain

THE arrival of the coronavirus and the subsequent State of Alarm has had a massive effect on bullfighting according to Spanish NGO and charity, animal rights organisation, AnimaNaturalis which wants to use this as a reason for banning bullfights completely.

Already nearly 11,000 people have written through the charity to the Spanish Minister of Culture José Manuel Rodríguez Uribe pleading that no aid be given to the bullfighting industry but should be spent on health and other essential services.

So far all bullfights scheduled for March, April and May have been cancelled which has affected more than 200 fights according to Anoet, the association of bullfighting event organisers and this figure increases dramatically when one takes into account the number of festivals which include bull running.

“The bullfighting industry is asking for contingency, recovery and support plans for their businesses from the government,” said Aïda Gascón, director of AnimaNaturalis in Spain.

She added “We believe that not only should the government ignore its demands, but that it should rethink aid to bullfighting and allocate it where it is most necessary, which will also be the recovery of the different areas of culture, but of culture that all Spaniards share, not just a minority without empathy or compassion.”

According to the charity, in Catalonia alone, €1 million of public money is allocated to supporting bullfighting and bull baiting and this is the tip of the iceberg as the majority of other provinces support the industry as well.

Another example according to AnimaNaturalis, is that the Vox political party has proposed a modification to the Junta de Andalucia 2020 budget to grant €2 million subsidy to the municipalities that support bullfighting and this the charity strongly opposes.

It argues that in the most recent survey of cultural habits and practices undertaken by the Ministry of Culture, attendance at bullfights has decreased by 15 per cent over the last four years, meaning a drop of more than half a million spectators.

With just 8 per cent of the Spanish population attending bullfights, it argues that the silent majority should demand the fights be brought to an end.