Why was Bullfighting banned in Catalonia?

The matador walks onto the arena, wearing his brilliant costume. Outwardly dazzling, in his heart he musters the courage to fight a fierce, ferocious, feisty beast and defeat it in noble combat. Firstly he must confront his fears and allow the bull to approach him. They will dance together in a centuries old ritual. The crowd will applaud skill, accuracy and elegance and praise the matador’s heroics. Here man and beast become one but only one will be victorious. Only one will return boasting victory. The other will be remembered and given his rightful place in history.

This spectacle will never be seen again in Catalonia’s bullrings, which for centuries have been packed to the rafters. No longer will the matador receive applause and admiration from the crowd in the colourful stands of ‘La Monumental Barcelona’. The orange sands of the bullrings will witness the glorious festival no more. I have been there myself, sensed the drama and become engrossed in the atmosphere for the last time.

Why? Bluntly, Politics! The Catalan Government voted 68 to 55 on the 28^th of July 2011 in favour of banning this outstanding sport. Catalans who oppose bullfighting say that the battle itself is a sham. The bull is lost, confused and tamed, resulting in him being unable to injure a fly let alone a grown man. They say that they do not enjoy watching a harmless animal being tortured mercilessly. The families of dead or severely injured matadors would disagree. A 'corrida' is a fair fight where the bull has its sharp, strong and sturdy horns ready to impale anything in its path. The matador has ‘banderillas’ and a sword to keep the wild yet noble beast at bay. It is a historic ritual between man and beast and not the slaughter of an innocent animal which has no defence whatsoever.

Is banning bullfights what the Catalonian people want? Apparently not. Politicians should represent the people’s views yet the last ever ‘corrida’ in Barcelona was packed with supporters of the traditional sport. Over twenty thousand anxious admirers arrived to watch the calm, precise and thrilling display of the top Spanish matadors: Jose Tomas, Juan Mora and Serafin Marin. Thousands more fans were unable to attend since it was a full house, and organisers said that they had never had so many people wanting to go to a bullfight. This shows that there are strong foundations for the spectacle: a bullring is not simply an empty stadium where farm animals are butchered.

So why has the ban been put into place? One reason: the power of celebrities. I believe the Government would have done nothing about bullfighting and nor would have the Catalans if famous stars had not become involved. Ricky Gervais and Pamela Anderson both petitioned the Catalan Parliament to ban Spain’s most emblematic symbol and with big names came big support. Gervais and Anderson had never been to a bullfight and knew little about the sport. Suddenly they saw themselves as having the right to change the heritage of a country, the language of which they could not even speak.

They did it in the name of ‘animal rights’ yet Gervais is not a vegetarian: as a meat-eater he condones the existence of butchery and the meat-processing trade which provide far more horrific and squalid conditions for the animals than bullfighting. Before the fight the Iberian Bulls would have lived three years of being treated like Gods as they were being prepared for their glorious and great moment. When the time comes where they must enter the bullring they have the best possible chance of victory. They are not tortured or blinded beforehand or given any sort of handicap. If the bull fights valiantly and with honour it might not even be killed. It can be spared and then it spends the rest of its days simply fertilising eggs for new bulls to be born. This is the life of despicable, revolting and barbarous cruelty Gervais and Anderson have criticised for breaching ‘animal rights’.

This selective breeding is crucial since the genes of the most successful bulls are the most likely to produce great bulls in the future. Bulls are constantly improving in size, power and bravery and the matadors must match them showing that this is not simply a fight between two fantastic creatures but an arms race of two different species. Moreover the Iberian Bull owes its very existence to bullfighting and if they were to become wild they would not know how to find food for themselves. On top of that the risks of releasing such ferocious creatures back into the wild would be enormous. Casualties among the country dwellers who encounter them could be high. This therefore proves the idea of banning bullfighting in the way these animal rights group suggest is completely unfeasible. The Animal Rights arguments don’t make sense. So what’s the real reason for the ban?

The real reason is that in Catalonia, politicians have tried to distance themselves as far as possible from anything remotely to do with Spain. They want independence, arguing that their culture and origins have no affiliation with that of the Spanish. This pursuit of independence has led to the Catalans trying to remove anything which is associated with Spain. Bullfighting was clearly one of the most obvious targets and so the Catalan Parliament passed its petition for the banning of a sport that started in Crete around 2000BC. The link between Spain and bullfighting and the attempts to destroy the connection between Spain and Catalonia were ultimately what led to this. When the petition was passed, in their eyes, it was the start of their ‘freedom’.

Is there really a case for Catalonian separatism? The movement dates back to the 1930s when the Spanish Civil War began. Catalonia was a communist stronghold and since the far right won the war Catalonians have had a hatred and distrust of the Spanish Government ever since. Franco also wished to outlaw the Catalan language as well.

However this 'grudge' is no longer applicable as the Government has changed. It is time to move on. Franco’s hated fascist regime, which sought to ban Catalan, is long gone. Just as contemporary Germany has moved on from its NAZI legacy, so Spain must leave the Civil War behind.

Moreover if banning bullfighting is about detaching Spain from Catalonia, then surely other fragments of Spanish Culture should be eliminated as well. Picasso was Spanish and yet in Barcelona there is a museum dedicated to him. The museum receives millions of tourists and in this instance the Catalans have decided to label Picasso’s works as part of their culture and history. This is a clear case of hypocrisy to do with only one thing; money.

But why if the Catalans are worried about money, especially in such harsh economic times, would they ban bullfighting? Moreover according to some estimates produced by campaigners against the banning of the beautiful sport, it created 300 million Euros for the Catalonian economy.  But the politicians believe the ban will bring many more tourists to their region, because Catalonia will be seen as more advanced than Spain and responsible for banishing the ‘horrific, degrading and sickening’ murder of a defenceless, harmless and innocuous animal. In addition the people that earn the majority of the revenue from these ‘corridas’ are seen as Spanish and the general belief is that the cash benefits the Spanish economy rather than the Catalonian one.

In places like Seville and Madrid you will not find a single person who is against bullfighting. It is intrinsic to their culture and a symbolic festival. People turn up to the bullrings with fantastic, elegant clothes and marvellous hats just as British people do at Royal Ascot. These are times of celebration and prestige. The Stadium begins to fill. The crowd sit and wait. The matador appears waving his courageous hand. Then the doors open. The beast emerges from the shadows. He runs towards the matador with all its might and power. Ole! Ole! Ole! The matador thrusts his ‘banderilla’ into his back. Ole! Ole! Ole! Minutes go by. The music begins signalling the final, mysterious act. The Matador throws away the red cape. The bull steadies himself. The matador shows no signs of fear. The bull suddenly lunges itself towards him. Two tonnes of muscle are about to strike him. He pulls out his sword. Plunges into the beast’s heart. It collapses and the matador has won.

It is far more than just a killing; it is a celebration of culture, religion and the progression of man. Surely a two tonne giant would annihilate a small, insignificant, featherweight of a person? The matador musters courage and uses skill, intelligence and agility to out-manoeuvre a frightful beast that would paralyse any man with simply its presence. It is a sport of bravery and those who cannot understand these values which we, as honourable and respectable people, hold dear in our hearts are not able to enjoy the spectacle. The crowd do not jeer at the sight of blood but applaud the matador for how cleanly, precisely and rapidly he inserts the blades and how close he allows the bull to get to his body whilst being in utter control.

The Catalans did not ban the ancient sport in order to uphold ‘animal rights’. The Catalans did it for political reasons and their long lust to be separated from the splendid country that is Spain. It is a huge pity that this historic part of Spain is so ashamed of its wonderful, intriguing and dazzling heritage. This magnificent sport will never cast its ray of beauty on Catalan soil. The masculine matadors will never set foot on the orange sands and the glorious sound of ‘Ole’ will become faint in the memory.