Last bullfight staged in Catalonia

Mon Sep 26, 2011

In Spain, clashes have broken out between fans and anti-bullfighting protesters, as animal welfare activists win in a campaign to ban bullfighting.

The demonstration came as matadors held the last bullfight in the country's north-eastern region of Catalonia.

The brief fight broke out in Barcelona as fans confronted about 20 animal welfare activists.

"This is like a dictatorship. We don't do anything wrong to anyone and we are banned from having a 300 year-old show," Josep Navarro, 60, a longtime fan, told Reuters.

Meanwhile animal welfare activists celebrated the last day of "death in the afternoon" in Catalonia, saying that they would push their campaign for other regions to follow.

Hundreds of anti-bullfight protesters gathered outside the bull ring carrying posters reading "A great day for the bulls" and "Goodbye" as the police monitored the event.

"It is a small victory, but the thought of having it in the rest of Spain and still having Correbous (local fiestas) here does not make me happy. I am here because six animals are going to be tortured here today," said an anti-bullfighting activist.

The event marked a heated debate over bullfighting which has drawn attention to the cultural, political and economic divisions in modern Spain.

Catalonia's regional parliament banned bullfighting in July 2010, following a signature-collection campaign by animal rights activists.

However, the ban does not take effect until January the first 2012. Bullfighting's popularity in Catalonia has decreased in recent decades.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201219.html.