Protest in city of Valencia against bullfighting

18-03-2024

On March 10, CAS International and AnimaNaturalis protested against the bullfights in the Spanish city of Valencia. These are held during Fallas, a traditional feast held annually in Valencia.

The protest took place in front of the Valencia City Hall. Activists held large boards depicting the heads of bulls and horses, symbolizing the victims of the bullfighting industry. Our director Maite van Gerwen attended the protest:

“It is overwhelming to stand there with so many motivated people and speak out together against this animal suffering and stand up for the defenseless animals. I greatly appreciate the people who came to town on Sunday morning to also raise their voices for the bulls.”

The Fallas festivities in the city of Valencia will take place between March 1 and 19. Finally, bullfighters will kill 60 bulls between March 12 and 19.

Fallas in city of Valencia

The Fallas basically have nothing to do with animal suffering: sculptures made of wood and papier-mâché play an important role in this week-long celebration. At the end of the festivities, the statues are set on fire. Bullfights are held during Fallas, but essentially have nothing to do with the fiesta.

Lack of interest

According to data coming from the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the number of bullfights in Spain has halved in the last decade (from 2,684 in 2009 to 1,425 in 2019). The same ministry published how many people went to bullfights and bull festivals in 2018-2019: only 8% of Spaniards went to a spectacle with bulls, and only 5.8% went to a bullfight. Of this latter group, 19.6 percent had free admission, and 5 percent received discounts.
In addition, more than 50 percent of Spaniards favor a ban on bullfighting, according to a 2019 SocioMétrica poll. And 8 in 10 Spaniards oppose the use of animals for bullfighting, according to Fundación BBVA (2022).

Even though more than 90 percent of Spaniards do not go to bullfights, more than 9,000 bulls in Spain will die a gruesome death in the bullring this year. In addition, more than 30,000 bulls, cows and calves will be rented and exploited during bull festivals.

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