Colombia’s Capital City Outlaws Torture and Killing of Animals in Major Threat to Bullfighting
The new law aims to phase out the cruel bloodsport in one of the oldest bullfighting cities in the Americas.
Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Colombia’s capital city, Bogota, has introduced a new draft law that will protect animals from abuse and killing, in a major blow to the future of bullfighting.
The new law will make it illegal to “cut, maim, injure, burn or hurt animals in any form whatsoever, as well as putting a bull to death”, says the bill’s promoter, Andrea Padilla, of the Green Alliance Party.
The power to outlaw bullfighting remains in the hands of Colombia’s legislature. However, with this city council ruling effectively removing the torture at the heart of these cruel events, campaigners are hopeful that it will sound the death knell for the sport completely.
Bogota’s leftist mayor, Claudia Lopez, showed her support for the new law, tweeting "we want to respect all forms of life".
Those in opposition to the new law argue that bullfighting is part of the country's cultural heritage. However, Bogota, one of the first cities in the Americas to host bullfighting, only began doing so in 1931.
Bogota’s ruling is just the latest blow to the flailing bullfighting industry. Financial losses and waning public support have been exacerbated by the current pandemic, which has cancelled many major bullfighting events around the world.
Whilst the infamous sport is legal in just eight countries, around 250,000 bulls are killed in bullfights every year, and most bulls will suffer an agonizing death.
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