Bullfighting's future in Spanish islands is no blood, no booze

Critics say the new law will "kill" the traditional sport and central government will intervene in an attempt to overturn it.

Pro-animal rights activists spread red powder on themselves as they break fake "banderillas" (spears to jab the bull) to protest against bullfighting in Pamplona

A crackdown on bullfights in Spain's Balearic Islands will see them made shorter, bloodless and only for adults.
Anti-doping tests will also be brought in for both matadors and bulls, and alcohol banned at the traditional Spanish contest.
The new restrictions will come into force in Mallorca, Ibiza, Minorca and Formentera, following approval by the islands' regional parliament.
Bulls will only have to spend a maximum of 10 minutes in the ring.
Spanish matador Alberto Lopez Simon performs a pass on a Victoriano del Rio Cortes' fighting bull during the sixth bullfight of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, on July 12, 2017. The festival is a symbol of Spanish culture that attracts thousands of tourists to watch the bull runs despite heavy condemnation from animal rights groups. / AFP PHOTO / ANDER GILLENEA (Photo credit should read ANDER GILLENEA/AFP/Getty Images)
Conservative MPs in the region warned bullfight promoters would now find it virtually impossible to hold any contests.
"It's a law made treacherously to ban our culture," Popular Party MP Miquel Jerez said.
He promised the national government, which is led by the Popular Party, would try to overturn it.
Other opponents say the new law is at odds with the protection the Spanish constitution grants to bullfighting as part of national cultural heritage.
Last year, the Constitutional Court overturned a ban on bullfights in Catalonia passed by a regional parliament in 2010.
Humane Society International, an animal rights organisation, hailed the latest legislative crackdown as "a very satisfying victory for compassionate policy-making".
"Taunting and killing bulls for entertainment is a brutal anachronism," said Joanna Swabe, the group's public affairs director for Europe.
"This vote shows that a full ban is not strictly necessary to end the practice of bullfighting."
By;Worldcoinsmoney.blogspot.com
SPAIN.


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