Spain's Catalan region to vote on bullfight ban

The legislature of the Catalan Region in northeast Spain vote on a bill on Wednesday to abolish bullfighting, a traditional spectacle around the country.

With the Socialist Party and moderate Catalan National Party allowing their deputies a free vote, the final outcome is expected to be in the balance until the last moment.

The deputies of the right wing Popular Party will vote against the ban, while Izquierda Unida and the more radical Catalan parties will vote in favor.

A typical bullfight sees a matador perform several dangerous moves provoking the bull with a colored cape before evading its charges.

However, each display usually ends with the death of the bull in the arena as the matador kills it with a sword. Each bullfight could leave six animals killed.

Opponents say that it is a brutal display that has no place in the 21st century, while those in favor say that it is a centuries-long tradition and its abolition would mean the loss of jobs and possible ruin for those who breed the aggressive black fighting bulls.

Some 180,000 signatures reportedly have been collected on a petition in favor of forbidding the 'fiesta national' in Catalonia, a region centering around Barcelona.

Meanwhile, the pro-bullfighting groups said that compensation will be made to breeders, 70 U.S.dollars per head of bull, adding that in 2007 bullfighting brought an income of 6.5 million U.S. dollars to Barcelona.

Source: Xinhua