Bullfighting ban returns to the center of political debate in Colombia

After a commission of the House of Representatives shelved Bill 328, which intended to ban bullfighting gradually, the pro-government senator Esmeralda Hernandez is promoting a new initiative with the government’s support to put an end to bullfighting in Colombia.

A group of congress members is not giving up in the quest to ban bullfighting, a Spanish heritage many Colombians consider as a tradition or artistic expression and by others as animal abuse.

Under the slogan “bullfighting is torture, it is not culture”, a new bill was presented with the support of the National Government through the Minister of Culture, Jorge Zorro – one of the authors of the text – and with the backing of 42 congress members as confirmed by the local media RCN Radio.

This new proposal was presented after the Fifth Commission of the House of Representatives sank Bill 328, which sought the progressive prohibition of bullfighting in Colombia.

The proposal was shelved on April 25 with 11 votes in favor and nine against out of 23 votes.

The proposal had to gather support from the committee to enter the orbit of Congress itself.

Law 328 had been promoted by the senator of the Alianza Verde party, Andrea Padilla.

“We lost a battle but not the war”, she said on Twitter and affirmed that she will not stop “fighting for the rights of animals to be recognized”.

She added that moving towards peace, one of Gustavo Petro’s main objectives is “recognizing animals as inhabitants deserving of protection and attention from the State”.

One of the opponents of Bill 328, Representative Ana Rogelia Monsalve, considered that it is “irresponsible to propose laws that prohibit bullfights and corralejas without adequate planning that involves the affected communities”.

Regarding the new text, Minister Jorge Zorro assured that activities such as “becerradas” (bullfights with calves) or bullfights “are not in harmony with the principles of a culture of care for reconciliation with nature”.

With information from Sputnik