Balearic law against bullfighting declared unconstitutional

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The Balearic law against bullfighting was declared unconstitutional. The Spanish Constitutional Court asserted that several articles of the law in the Spanish state of the Balearic Islands are unconstitutional. The law consists of various elements that prohibit acts such as the killing and wounding of the bulls and the use of horses. CAS International, together with local organizations, worked intensively for years to end bullfighting in the Balearic Islands.

This is bad news for the bulls and horses in the Balearic Islands. In Spain an absolute ban on bullfighting is not possible because it is protected with the status ‘cultural heritage’. As a result of our campaign ‘Mallorca Sense Sang’ and with the help of various animal welfare organizations, a bill was passed in which various elements of bullfighting were banned, in order to make bullfighting impossible. The killing and wounding of the bulls was prohibited, as was the presence of horses during bullfighting. Furthermore, bullfighters and bulls had to be subjected to a doping test. The access of minors (18 years) to bullfights was also forbidden. The bulls should come from cattle farms in the neighborhood, to prevent them from being on the road for a long time, preferably from the Balearic Islands themselves. The bullfights were allowed to last a maximum of 10 minutes. The law was adopted in 2017.

Partido Popular
The conservative political party Partido Popular (PP), a party that actively uses all available means to protect bullfighting, started a research about the constitutionality of the legislation on bullfighting on the Balearic Islands. This decision is in stark contrast to the ever growing disinterest in bullfighting in Spain; only 6.9% of the Spaniards go to bullfighting and since 2007 60% less bullfights have been held, according to data from the Ministry of Culture.

Marius Kolff, director of CAS International:

“Together with AnimaNaturalis, CAS International will investigate which steps can be taken to prevent the traditional bullfights from returning to the Balearic Islands.”

Mallorca Sense Sang
For years CAS International worked intensively to end the traditional bullfights in the Balearic Islands with the campaign ‘Mallorca Sense Sang’ (Mallorca without blood), with AnimaNaturalis, supported by HSI. More than 360,000 signatures were collected during this campaign. The campaign could count on a broad support from the Balearic people.

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