The bullring of Acho in Lima will no longer be used for bullfights
10-09-2020The city council of the Peruvian capital Lima has decided to no longer use bullring Acho for bullfights. In the future, all buildings owned by the municipality of Lima will no longer be used for cruel spectacles with animals, such as bullfighting and cockfighting.
Acho is owned by the municipality of Lima. The city council has now drawn up guidelines for renting out the building. When drafting new leases, one must agree to the condition that the bullring will not be used for cruel events with animals, such as bullfights. The current contract for the use of Acho runs until the end of 2021. The intention is that Acho will no longer be rented for bullfighting after this period. But it is still questionable whether bullfights will still take place between now and the end of 2021: due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, Acho currently serves as a shelter for the homeless.
In this way, the Peruvian capital wants to protect vagrants against infection with the coronavirus. The bullfighting sector was anything but satisfied with this initiative. As long as the bullring is used as a homeless center, no bullfights can take place. The President of the Constitutional Court of Peru responded to the unease from the bullfighting sector by saying that saving lives is far more important than keeping bloody and cruel animal spectacles.
Minister of Culture
The Minister of Culture, Alejandro Neyra, agreed with the decision of the City Council of Lima to not use public buildings for cruel events with animals. Unfortunately, this does not mean that bullfighting in Lima will end. The city has three bullrings that are privately owned, and for which the guidelines of the municipality do not apply.
The current developments can be called positive, because it says something about the opinion of the city council on bullfighting. Our colleagues from Peru have been advocating for years to stop bullfighting in Lima and to use the bullring for other purposes. From CAS International, we have been actively supporting our Peruvian colleagues for many years, including sending letters to the authorities and their actions on social media. It’s nice to see that Acho is now serving to save lives and hopefully Acho will never again be used for torturing and killing animals. Marius Kolff, director of CAS:
“In Peru we have been working with various organizations for many years. Sometimes that was difficult because there were often different opinions about the approach. Nevertheless, we have now all achieved something: the large municipal bullring will no longer be used for the cruel bullfights. This is good and I am also grateful to the mayor and other politicians who have so rewarded our work! ”
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