The Official Spanish Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) published today an order from the Ministerio de Cultura cancelling the Premio Nacional de Tauromaquia (National Bullfighting Prize).
In May this year, the Minister for Culture, Ernest Urtasun, defended the move before Parliament, citing a rise in concern for animal welfare.
This decision comes into force tomorrow; i.e. 24 hours after its publication in the BOE.
Minister Urtasun has expressed his rejection of such events based on animal cruelty and furthermore his ministry had not chosen a 2024 candidate in the bullfighting world to receive a Medalla de Bellas Artes.
This decision was not only criticised by those within the bullfighting sector, but also the PP (conservatives) and Vox (far right) as well as the socialist PM for Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, often alines with the right wing.
Those in favour of the decision were the governing party, PSOE and their coalition partners, Sumar (far left), as well as associations from the animal-rights sector.
What this move has basically done is remove state protection and promotion of bullfighting; i.e., public funding for bullfighting shows and imposes a minimum age limit for spectators concerning children.
The Premio Nacional de Tauromaquia was brought into being in 2013 by the then conservative Central Government, awarding a cash prize of 30,000 euros.
A recent nationawide poll (Encuesta de Hábitos y Prácticas Culturales en España) showed that hardly 1.9% of the population go to bullfighting events, which is a 4.7% drop on last year.
Finally, the reaction of the PP has been to state that when they return to government, they will reinstate the prize, whilst the PP Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, claimed that the socialists are against freedom and cultural plurality and that bullfighting was “the most cultured fiesta in the world.”
(News: Spain)
Tags: News, Spain, Bullfighting, PSOE, PP, Vox, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Premio Nacional de Tauromaquia, National Prize for Bullfighting, Cancelled