Bullfighting prize given mortal blow
The scrapping of Spain’s national bullfighting prize by the left-wing government has provoked anger and accusations that the decision was taken for “ideological” reasons.
The culture ministry, which is responsible for bullfighting, a protected part of Spanish heritage, said that ending the €30,000 (NZ$53,700) prize was due to increasing public concerns about animal welfare.
“I believe that there is a majority of Spaniards who are increasingly concerned about animal welfare and who do not want to partake in animal abuse,” said Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun, a leader of the populist left-wing Sumar platform.
The ministry said that only 1.9% of Spain’s population attended bullfighting shows in 2021-22.
The announcement was made before Spain’s most important bullfighting festival, San Isidro, which starts in Madrid on May 10. The ministry said the timing was a coincidence.
The move has prompted several regions, including Madrid and Castile-La Mancha, which is run by a Socialist government, to announce the creation of their own prizes.
Victorino Martin, head of the Bullfighting Foundation (FTL), said Urtasun was “not fulfilling his obligations” as a public official, and was exercising his office in a discriminatory way against bullfighting “for ideological reasons”.
Martin’s foundation is considering legal action against the decision, and has announced that it will present this year’s award on its own.
“If [Urtasun] doesn’t like [bullfighting], it is respectable, but he is not there to do what he likes, but to govern for all Spaniards,” Martin said.
The conservative Popular Party (PP) has vowed to reinstate the prize if it is returned to power.
Borja Semper, a PP spokesman, said bullfighting was a reflection of Spain’s traditions and culture. He accused the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of being “obsessed with sticking its finger in the eye of those who do not think” the same way.
Bullfighting is a centuries-long tradition, but the national award was created only in 2011, during the Socialist government of Jose Luis Zapatero.
In 2007, there were 3651 bullfights in Spain, but this had fallen to 1546 by 2022, according to government statistics.