MEDIA RELEASE

29 July 2010

Catalonian Parliament Votes To Abolish Bullfighting In The Region

The Catalonian Parliament has today voted in favour of amending the current animal protection legislation to abolish bullfighting in the region. The vote – passed with 68 MPs voting in favour of the ban, while 55 voted against it - is being hailed as a historical victory and a vindication for Catalonian citizens who called on their Parliament to amend the legislation to include bulls in the animal protection law.

The Catalonian assembly debated and then voted in favour of a popular initiative legislative (ILP in Catalan) presented in December 2009 by PROU, a platform of animal protectionists from Catalonia, who had collected over 180,000 signatures supporting the petition to end bullfighting.

At a press conference held immediately after the vote, PROU expressed their satisfaction for the result of this morning’s vote: “Today has been the day we were hoping for,” said Leonardo Anselmi on behalf of PROU, “The suffering of animals in the Catalan bullrings has been abolished once and for all. It has created a precedent we hope will be replicated by other democratic Parliaments internationally, in those regions and countries where such cruel bullfights are still allowed.”

PROU spokespeople also highlighted the social movement that the campaign had inspired, in order to catalyse real political change. “The Catalan animal protection movement has come together and worked with tremendous energy towards this common cause. Mobilizing over a thousand activists for PROU’s campaign, gathering more than 180,000 signatures against the suffering that takes place in the bullrings was a great outcome, and the result of today’s vote is the perfect culmination of this remarkable effort.”
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