New Poll: Support for Bullfighting in Spain Hits All-Time Low
New figures confirm, yet again, that the vast majority of Spanish people have no interest in bullfighting, the cruel “sport” in which a terrified animal is tormented by a group of armed riders before being stabbed to death by a matador.
The poll, conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of World Animal Protection, found that Spaniards don’t support bullfights. In fact, support for the cruel spectacle has dropped sharply in the past three years and mirrors a similar decline in the number of people going to watch bullfights.
This is further evidence that bullfighting is on the way out – especially as opposition is even higher among young people. A huge 93 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds say they don’t support bullfighting, according to the survey, a trend that points to a brighter future for animals in Spain.
Almost three-quarters of respondents also said they disagreed with the use of public funds to support bullfighting. Currently, EU subsidies to the tune of around €100 million/year go to farmers who raise bulls for bullfights, while inside Spain, still more government money is thrown at this barbaric practice. And the handful of remaining supporters of bullfighting are resorting to increasingly desperate measures to try to keep the cruel spectacle alive, such as attempting to add bullfighting to the school curriculum.
In the face of such an overwhelming lack of public support, it can’t be long before bullfighting disappears completely in Spain. And for everyone who cares about animals, that day can’t come soon enough.
