Despite its long history in Barcelona, bullfighting was banned throughout the Catalonia region in 2010 after a campaign by a citizens` platform for animal rights called „Prou!” („Enough!” in Catalan). Critics argued that the ban was motivated by issues of Catalan separatism and identity politics. [65] In October 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Catalan regional parliament did not have the power to ban legal events in Spain. Law 308 on the Protection of Animals was adopted by the National Assembly of Panama on March 15, 2012. Article 7 of the law states: „Dog fighting, animal breeds, bullfights – whether Spanish or Portuguese – breeding, access, duration and operation of all types of circus or circus shows using trained animals of any kind are prohibited. Horse racing and cockfighting were exempt from the ban. [125] In Costa Rica, the law prohibits killing bulls and other animals in public and private exhibitions. [101] However, there are still bullfights, called „Toros a la Tica,” which are televised from Palmares and Zapote at the end and beginning of the year. Amateur volunteer bullfighters (improvvisados) confront a bull in a ring and try to provoke it to attack it and then flee. [102] In a December 2016 survey, 46.4% of respondents wanted to ban bullfighting, while 50.1% thought they should continue.
[103] Bullfights do not contain spears or other devices to harm the bull and are similar to the bull run in Pamplona, except that the Costa Rican event takes place in an arena and not on the street as in Pamplona. Many city councils are cutting subsidies for bullfighting, while the discussion about the use of public subsidies for these celebrations is gaining strength on the political agenda. Between 2007 and 2014, the number of bullfights held in Spain decreased by 60%. [50] In 2007, there were 3,651 bullfights and bullfights in Spain, but by 2018, the number of bullfights had fallen to 1,521, a historically low level. [51] [52] A September 2019 report by the Spanish government showed that only 8% of the population had attended a bull-related event in 2018. Of this percentage, 5.9% participated in a bullfight, while the rest participated in other bull events such as the bull race. [52] When asked if they were interested in bullfighting on a scale of 0 to 10, only 5.9% responded 9 to 10. A majority of 65% answered 0-2; This figure was 72.1% among 15-19 year olds and 76.4% among 20-24 year olds. [52] With a decline in visitor numbers, the bullfighting sector has come under financial pressure as many local authorities have reduced subsidies due to public criticism. [52] Spanish public broadcaster TVE cancelled live coverage of bullfights from August 2007 to September 2012, claiming that the reports were too violent for children and that live coverage violated a voluntary industry-wide code that sought to limit „particularly crude or brutal footage.” [79] In a statement to Congress in October 2008, Luis Fernández, president of the Spanish public broadcaster TVE, confirmed that the channel would no longer broadcast live bullfights due to high production costs and lack of support from advertisers.
However, the station continued to broadcast Tendido Cero, a bullfighting magazine. [80] Other regional and private broadcasters continued to broadcast it with good audiences. [81] The government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy lifted the ban, and since September 2012, live bullfights have been broadcast on TVE at the traditional time of 18:00. [64] The annual number of visitors to bullfights decreases from year to year, especially among young Spaniards. In 2018, the number of bullfighting events in the country fell to an all-time low of 1,521. The second type of American bullfighting originated in California, where it originated in the heart of the Portuguese immigrant community. California introduced a bullfighting ban in 1957, but later changed the law to allow a bloodless form of bullfighting under pressure from the Portuguese-American community. This type of bloodless bullfight is more like a traditional bullfight, but the animal is not really injured. The bull is not killed, and instead of holding with spears, it has Velcro ties on its shoulders, and the bullfighter throws Velcro on these stains. Although the bull is not injured, this practice deliberately involves irritating and provoking the animal, and there are many people in California (and elsewhere) who believe that this form of sport should also be banned.
Since the 19th century, Spanish-style bullfights have become increasingly popular in southern France, where they enjoy legal protection in areas where there is an unbroken tradition of this bullfight, especially on holidays such as Pentecost or Easter. Among the most important arenas in France are the ancient Roman arenas of Nimes and Arles, although there are arenas in the southern Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic coast. Bullfights of this type follow the Spanish tradition and even Spanish words are used for all terms related to bullfighting. There are minor cosmetic differences like music. This should not be confused with the bloodless bullfights mentioned below, which originated in France. [ref. needed] Some matadors, especially Juan Belmonte, were severely tormented on several occasions: according to Ernest Hemingway, Belmonte`s legs were marked by many ugly scars.