BullfightOpinion Poll: As Spain Debates „Support for Bullfighting“ Bill, Most SpaniardsOppose Use of Public Funds for Cruel, Waning Bloodsport
LONDON[23 April 2013] – As the Spanish Parliament debates a proposed new law to declarebullfighting a cultural heritage, an Ipsos MORI public opinion poll commissionedby Humane Society International reveals thatthe majority of Spaniards do notapprove of public funds being used for the bloodsport and that three quarters ofthe population haven’t attended a bullfight in the last five years. Only 29percent of Spanish people support bullfighting, according to poll results.
A legislativeproposal supported by bullfighting enthusiasts to protect and promotebullfighting nationwide is being debated by the Culture Committee before beingvoted on by the Senate and then the Congress. Bullfighting already receives anestimated more 600 million euros in Spanish and EU subsidies. If this new law is passed, even more public money could beused to fund and promote this bloody spectacle in which bulls are tormented andstabbed repeatedly until death in a bullfighting ring.
“Bullfightingis a cruel and outdated spectacle that has no place in modern Spain,” said KittyBlock, vice president of Humane Society International. “Clearly, the poll showsthe vast majority of Spanish people don’t support cruelty to bulls and don’twant to see public funds poured into this appalling bloodsport. Humane SocietyInternational urges Spain’s politicians to reject the proposed law, which is a cynicalattempt to procure taxpayers’ money to breathe life back into a dying industry. Let’s celebrate Spain’s artistic, cultural and architectural heritage withoutcruelty and relegate to the history books the torturing of bulls forentertainment.”
Figuresreleased recently by the Culture Ministry show that bullfight attendance is atan all-time low. From 2007 – 2011 bullfights in Spain declined from 3,650 ayear to just 2,290 with only a fraction (590) involving top-ranking matadorsagainst adult bulls. Figures are likely to have dropped even further during2012 following the recession and the introduction of an outright ban onbullfighting in neighbouring Catalonia.
KEY OPINION POLL FINDINGS:
– Seventy-six percent oppose use of public funds tosupport the bullfighting industry
– Only 29 percent of the population support bullfighting(just 13 percent support it “strongly”)
– Seventy-five percent of respondents said they hadn’t attendeda bullfight in the last five years
– Seven percent of respondents said they attended abullfight “about once a year,” compared with 20 percent who said they visited amuseum/art exhibition; 19 percent who made theatre visits; and 12 percent who attendedfootball matches
– Sixty-seven percent agree that children under 16should not be allowed to attend bullfights.
Bullfightingis already banned in many countries including Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Denmark,Italy and the United Kingdom. However, events still take place in Spain, France, Portugal, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico. Some Spanishcities, such as Calonge, Tossa de Mar, Vilamacolum and La Vajol, as well as theregion of Catalonia, have outlawed bullfighting.
Everyyear, many thousands of bulls suffer a slow and agonising death in Spanishbullfights. Bulls are routinely subjected to prolonged pain. First the picadors(men on horseback) pierce the bull’s neck with a barbed lance. Then a matador repeatedlystabs the animal with banderillas (spears) before a sword is driven between thebull’s shoulders. In most cases, this injures the bull’s lungs and bronchialtubes, causing blood to flow and bubble through the animal’s mouth and nosebefore death finally comes.
ENDS
Media contacts: Wendy Higgins, EU CommunicationsDirector, Humane Society: whiggins@hsi.org +44(0)7989 972 423
Marta Esteban, president, Plataforma La Tortura No Es Cultura: marta@ayudanimales.org
Silvia Barquero, Prensa, Partido Animalista PACMA: silviabarquero@pacma.es
Notes
Ipsos MORI conducted 1,017 interviewsonline in Spain on the Ipsos i-omnibus between the 22nd and 25th March2013. Ipsos i-omnibus is a bi-weekly online survey conducted by Ipsos via theIpsos Online Panel system in 13 countries around the world. Interviews werewith adults aged 16-65yrs. Weighting was employed to balance demographics andensure the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population accordingto the most recent country Census data available and to provide resultsintended to approximate the sample universe.
Cultural Habits andPractices Survey published by the Ministry of Culture, during 2010-201:
http://www.mcu.es/estadisticas/docs/EHC/2010/Sintesis_2010-2011_ingles.pdf
Die Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz ist offizielles Mitglied der spanischen Plattform zur Abschaffung der Stierkämpfe „La Tortura No Es cultura“.
Bei Fragen wenden Sie sich deshalb bitte an:
Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz
Martina Szyszka
Beisitzerin im Bundesvorstand
Leiterin BAK Internationaler Tierschutz
Wittensteinstr. 108
42285 Wuppertal
Tel.: 0202 / 4936242
E-Mail: martina-szyszka (at) tierschutzpartei.de
