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Spanish bullfighter Manuel Jesus Cid "El Cid" gestures to the crowd as a bull spews blood from its mouth and nose during the seventh bullfight of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona July 13, 2010. (REUTERS/Vincent West)

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Spanish matador Joselillo holds up a flower and two bull's ears after killing a bull from the Dolores Aguirre Ybarra ranch, at the San Fermin festival on July 10, 2010. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images)

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Spanish bullfighter Manuel Jesus "El Cid" is gored by a bull during a bullfight at the bullring El Plantio in Burgos, northern Spain, June 27, 2010

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Spanish bullfighter Manuel Jesus "El Cid" is gored by a bull during a bullfight at the bullring El Plantio in Burgos, northern Spain, June 27, 2010.


A leg wound of Spanish bullfighter Manuel Jesus "El Cid" is seen during a bullfight at the El Plantio bullring in Burgos, northern Spain June 27, 2010.

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Spanish bullfighter Miguel Angel Perera waits for the start of the last bullfight of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona July 14, 2010.

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Spanish bullfighter Miguel Angel Perera performs a pass to a bull during the last bullfight of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona July 14, 2010.

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Spanish bullfighter Miguel Angel Perera reacts after killing a bull during the last bullfight of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona July 14, 2010.

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End of an era: Spanish region bans bullfighting
Associated Press,
July 29, 2010
Catalonia: It's a practice that has a limited time to run, at least as far as Barcelona is concerned.

The Parliament in the Catalan region has voted to ban bullfighting.

It's become the first major part of Spain to outlaw the battle between man and beast that's been going on for centuries. The debate had gotten heated at times, pitting animal rights advocates against supporters of traditional Spanish culture.

But in the end the vote was clear, 68 in favor, 55 against, with 9 abstentions. The outcome was greeted with cheers in the chamber. Some lawmakers even joined observers in getting to their feet for a standing ovation.

Supporters of the measure like animal activist Eric Gallego were celebrating, "We never thought this was going to turn into such a big issue, but it did in the end. We hope that other regions will see this as something achievable. We did it in Catalonia and we would never have imagined that was possible."

But there are those who think the vote had more to do with Cataluna's regional independence than it did concerns about animal welfare.

Luis Alcantara, a matador trainer says, "For us it is crystal clear. If instead of the world of Spanish bullfighting, this had been a Catalan pastime, then probably nothing would have happened. But because this is 'la fiesta nacional' (the national sport), people are just not interested."

The matador apprentice Alejandro de Benito seemed a bit resentful and said, "They have taken away the freedom to go and see a public show. Also as a professional I won't be able to do it in my homeland. That has always been my dream ever since I was young. I learned to love bullfights at Barcelona's Monumental arena. And now a bunch of politicians have taken away from me the chance to bullfight at my arena."

But animal rights activists were pleased.

The bullfighting ban will take effect in the north-eastern region of Spain in 2012.

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The decision comes after a campaign that collected more than 180,000 signatures supporting the proposal to include the bull in existing animal protection legislation.


The final stage of the bullfight comes once the matador has demonstrated his superiority over the bull.

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This file picture dated May 21, 2010 shows Spanish bullfighter Julio Aparicio gored by a bull during a bulfight of the San Isidro Feria at the Las Ventas bullring in Madrid.


Spanish bullfighter Jose Tomas is tossed by a bull during a bullfight at Monumental bullring in Barcelona in this July 5, 2009 file photo. Lawmakers delivered the death blow to bullfighting in Catalonia on July 28, 2010, outlawing the centuries-old blood sport for the first time in a mainland region of Spain.

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An anti-bullfight protestor celebrates outside the Catalan parliament after a voting session to ban bullfights in the Spanish region, in Barcelona, July 28, 2010. Lawmakers dealt the death blow to bullfighting in Catalonia on Wednesday, outlawing the centuries-old blood sport for the first time in a mainland region of Spain. Under the ban, which would come into effect in 2012, the last active bullring La Monumental in Catalonia's capital, Barcelona, would shut down, as would the remaining few elsewhere in the region.