BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s congress voted Tuesday to prohibit bullfights within the South American country, turning in a significant blow to a centuries-old custom that has impressed well-known songs and novels however has change into increasingly more debatable within the international locations the place it’s nonetheless practiced.
The invoice requires the banning of bullfights in a three-year span, making the custom unlawful via the beginning of 2028. The brand new legislation now must be signed via President Gustavo Petro, who has been an established opponent of those occasions.
Bullfighting originated within the Iberian Peninsula and continues to be criminal in a handful of nations, together with Spain, France, Portugal, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico.
It used to be as soon as a well-liked tournament, broadcast are living via a couple of tv networks. However the custom has come underneath larger scrutiny as perspectives exchange about animal rights, and plenty of to find it unacceptable to peer an animal endure for leisure’s sake.
“This ban is a large victory for organizations that experience labored to develop into society and reject violence towards animals,” mentioned Terry Hurtado, an animal rights activist and town council member in Cali, who has been main protests towards bullfights because the Nineteen Nineties. “I think relieved that bulls and horses (which additionally take part in some bullfights) in Colombia will not be tortured, and that youngsters will not be uncovered to this spectacle.”
In bullfights, a matador faces bulls which can be bred to be competitive. The matador scoffs the bull with a pink cape and kills the animal with the blow of a sword after it’s been injured with lances and daggers, and is bored with charging on the matador in a round area.
In Colombia, the place bullfights were held since colonial instances, not up to two dozen municipalities proceed to carry those occasions, even though the once a year bullfights within the town of Manizales nonetheless draw tens of hundreds of spectators.
Bullfighting aficionados described the ban as an attack at the freedoms of minorities in addition to an issue for towns the place those occasions draw hundreds of tourists
