8 Good News Stories for Animals From Spain
Things are shifting in Spain. We’ve known for a long time that most Spanish people have no interest in bullfights or other barbaric events in which animals are killed for “sport”, but for too long, public opinion has not translated into real change on the ground. Politicians have allowed a tiny interest group to use taxpayer’s money to prop up archaic “traditions” that have nothing to do with the culture of modern Spain.
But not anymore. In the last few months, we’ve seen so much progress for animals taking place in towns and cities all across the country that we can barely keep up! Here are some highlights:
- This new Mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, has refused to attend bullfights and said publicly that “not one euro of public money” will be spent on bullfighting.
- This town, Villafranca de los Caballeros, voted to scrap bullfighting so that it can spend the money on schoolbooks for children instead.
Villafranca de los Caballeros council votes on using fund for school supplies instead of bullfight – way to go! http://t.co/Y19gZvr1Y0
— Anja (@PyriteSoulfox) July 29, 2015
- This town, Trigueros del Valle, made history by granting rights to dogs and cats as “non-human neighbours”.
- The mayor of Valencia said that his administration will refuse to subsidise any events in which bulls are killed.
- This town in Alicante just replaced its traditional bull run with a bicycle race.
Fin de las vaquillas en El Moralet. El país va ganando en sentido común. http://t.co/VYpQwWJBaC
— Joanjosep.tk (@JoanJosepTK) July 27, 2015
- Catalonia has banned the use of wild animals in circuses. The region also banned bullfighting in 2010.
- These towns – 100 of them – have already banned bullfighting outright.
- And these 100 Spanish activists stripped down to their undies in Pamplona this year to protest against the San Fermín festival.
All in all, it’s an exciting time for animal rights in Spain. Of course, there’s still a lot more work to do, and, together with local Spanish groups, we’ll keep on campaigning until every bullfighting arena has been closed and every circus is free from animals. But recent events suggest that day could be closer than we ever could have hoped.
Be part of this progress! Here are two ways that you can take action right now:
