Spain’s government tries to stop controversial Toro de la Vega bull tournament

By Alyssa McMurtry

MADRID (AA)- Spain's Social Affairs Ministry submitted a legal petition on Thursday to stop the controversial Toro de la Vega bull tournament, claiming it violates Spain’s new animal protection law.

The festival was first recorded in 1534 and has been held most years since in the central Spanish town of Tordesillas.

This year’s edition is set to be held on Sept. 13, with the last two tournaments canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Toro de la Vega traditionally involves hundreds of lancers chasing a bull through the town on horseback or foot. Once they draw the bull out of the town, the participants kill the bull with spears.

However, the public killing of the bulls was outlawed in 2016 by the regional government and the Supreme Court upheld the ban in 2019.

This year, the far-right party Vox in Tordesillas tried to bring back the bull’s death, but that request was shut down.

However, participants can still stab the bull with lances tipped with small harpoons or other sharp tools.

“The intention is to avoid spilling a lot of blood, but they will cause serious injuries and internal wounds that could affect the bull’s thorax and cause collapsed lungs,” said Spanish animal rights party PACMA, which has submitted a petition with more than 70,000 signatures to stop the tournament.

According to PACMA’s legal counsel Eva Ramos, people have been trying to abolish the festival since the 18th century due to its “extreme cruelty.”

Madrid argues that the tournament could lead to animal cruelty, as defined by the new animal protection law passed this summer.

However, supporters of the tournament claim that it is an essential Spanish tradition that helped give rise to the sport of bullfighting.

“Torture should only apply to human beings, not animals,” Enrique Carnero, president of the tournament’s organizing body, said on Spanish broadcaster Cuatro this week.

“It's hard to explain, but the rite of the event is what’s most important, not the death of the animal.”