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Date Published: 25/03/2022

ARCHIVED - Bullfighting in Spain propped up by farming subsidies

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Breeders of bulls destined to be killed in the bullring in Spain are sustained by grants meant for farmers, say animal rights activists

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Bullfighting in Spain propped up by farming subsidies

Following a mass protest by farmers, hunters and bull breeders in Spain last weekend, it has emerged that the breeding of bulls to be killed in the bullring are being subsidised by EU funds meant to be destined for farming.

In an exposé in the Guardian, it was revealed that millions of euros of EU funding from the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) are paid out to farms that breed bulls for fighting, despite attempts by MEPs to ban the subsidies.

The bullbreeders union in Spain, Unión de Criadores de Toros, which represents the interests of 347 breeders, has estimated that a ban on granting this subsidy to bull farms would mean an economic hit of around 200m euros per year for the sector and would effectively bring the sport of bullfighting to an end.

Back in 2015, European members of parliament MEPs voted to block agricultural funds “for the financing of lethal bullfighting activities”, but to date there has been little real change, mainly because of legal issues.

The biggest problem is that many of the farms that raise bulls also produce a variety of other products, meaning that any ban on granting them money for bullbreeding would also erode their right to access funding for other agricultural activities.

Antonio Bañuelos, president of Spain’s Unión de Criadores de Toros, said: “It’s discriminatory to create this concept that the fate of these cattle can be tied to receiving funds or not.”

Even so, the bullfighting sector has taken a hit in popularity and income in recent years. Events in bullrings were stopped during the pandemic, and the financial crash of 2008 in Spain also put paid to many bullfights. In 2007 there were 3,651 events featuring bulls held across Spain. ten years later, that number had dropped to 1,553.

Animal rights activists and the overwhelming majority of MEPs are hoping that if the ban on subsidising bull raising with farming funds can overcome the legal hurdles, it will put a stop to bullfighting once and for all.

See also: 20 things pet owners are now prohibited from doing under the new Animal Protection Law in Spain

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