Is bullfights still legal?
The local Congress of Mexico City approved a reform that allows bullfighting without violence and prohibits injuries, death, and the use of sharp objects. According to the reform to Article 4 of the Animal Protection Law of Mexico City, to avoid injuries to other animals or people, the horns of the bull and/or calf must be protected. Only the cape and the muleta can be used, and any sharp object ‘that causes injuries, wounds, or death to the bull or calf, such as the pic, banderillas, sword, killing stick, and pointy sticks’ is prohibited. The bullfight will last a maximum of 10 minutes per bull —currently it is 20 minutes— with a limit of 6 specimens per event.
In countries where Bullfights still legal caused injuries or death are caused to the animals involved, the economic penalties will be up to “3,000 times the current measurement and update unit” for each injured or dead animal. This would be equivalent to US$ 16,970.The new format has generated mixed reactions: animal rights advocates and local authorities welcomed the legislative decision, but the bullfighting industry rejects it as it believes it alters tradition.
Moreover, the change comes more than a year after the bullfighting spectacle returned to the capital of Mexico following the Supreme Court lifting the suspension that had kept them on hold since May 2022.
This suspension was granted by a federal judge who accepted a protection order promoted by the non-governmental organization Justicia Justa. In its appeal, the association argued that bullfights affect the right to have a healthy environment because they involve harm to animal welfare.
However, in its analysis of the case, the Second Chamber of the SCJN concluded that Justicia Justa was unable to demonstrate ‘the existence of an imminent and irreparable harm.
‘In Colombia, bullfighting has also generated debate in the past. In May 2024, a law was enacted that prohibits it throughout the country, although a three-year transition period was accepted to help families dependent on bullfighting to find new sources of livelihood.
In 2022, at least 4 people died and more than 300 were injured after eight stands collapsed during a corraleja in a square in El Espinal, in the department of Tolima. Following the incident, one of the public figures who spoke about the event was the elected president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who in a tweet requested “that mayors not authorize more shows involving the death of people or animals.”Animal rights organizations such as Animal Heroes echoed Petro’s comments.
Countries where bullfighting is still legal
According to the organization Humane Society International, there are seven countries where bullfighting is legal:
- Ecuador
- Spain
- France
- Mexico
- Peru
- Portugal
- Venezuela
The legality in these countries is not total. For example, the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Sonora, Guerrero, Coahuila, and Quintana Roo have banned bullfighting. Despite this, Mexico is made up of 32 states, so bullfighting remains widely available in other parts.
The situation is even more entrenched in Spain, where bullfighting is regulated and protected by three ordinary laws and by two rulings of the Constitutional Court (one of which lifted the ban on bullfighting in Catalonia), as reported by the local medium El País.So, with or without restrictions, the outlook in these seven countries remains favorable for bullfighting.
