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Children under 8 years of age may not participate in bullfighting for minors

The proposed law to regulate the participation of children in bullfighting parties, promoted by the PNV and the PSE, was voted in favour by the PP; EH Bildu abstained, believing that the minimum age should be 12. The regulation to be adopted in plenary includes some new developments, such as the minimum age for cattle, and the elimination of the need for parental leave.

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Children's bullfighting show in Antzuola. Stock Photo: Jone Larrañana/Antzuola (Flickr)

Children under 8 years of age willnotbe able to participate in bullfightingfor children under 16 years of age in different localities of Euskal Herria. This is reflected in the opinion of the proposed law promoted by the PNV and the PSE-EE, which was closed in committee this morning. The rule that will be taken to the plenary for final approval has been supported by the PNV, PSE-EE and PP.

The limitation of the minimum age is one of the new features added to the proposed law promotedby the PNV and the PSE-EE, which regulates "bullfighting festivities " for minors, such as the release of calves, enclosures and sokamuturra, as well as the armbands.

The original proposal regulated the participation of children under the age of 16 in these holidays, and now, through an amendment by the nominating groups that has been added to the text, that age is maintained but the minimum age for participation is limited to 8.

On the other hand, the paragraph stating that the participation of these minors requires written parental consent has been removed from the original text, a measure which, according to the amendment of the PNV and the PSE, could entail unnecessary or redundant administrative burdens with other guarantees.

In addition, it will be mandatory to provide participants with clear information on safety standards and animal protection and respect guidelines prior to the start of the party.

The fines imposed range from EUR 150 to EUR 30 000 depending on the seriousness of the offence.

This legislative proposal excludes bullfighting shows regulated by the specific State and autonomous regulations on bullfighting, novillage and other performances involving cattle over 18 months of age.

Ensuring animal welfare

With regard to animals, the original proposal stipulated that cattle or calves participating in these festivities should be under 18 months of age; now, with the change introduced at the amendment stage, it is stipulated that the age of cattle should be between 6 and 18 months.

The text also specifies that each animal may not remain in the venue of the celebration for more than 15 minutes , after which the animal must be removed immediately and cannot be used again at the same feast.

In addition, during the course of the activity, the physical and psychological condition of the animals shall be monitoredin accordance with the indicators of stress, fatigue, fear or suffering, and the holding of the event shall be prohibited in the event of weather alerts due to high temperatures.

Playgrounds or itineraries must be delimited by safe protective barriers , built with materials that do not cause injury, cutting or injury to participants and animals, and provided that a complete separation between animals and spectators is guaranteed.

40,000 signatures against

With them the animalist association and the Sokamuturra Ez platform brought to the Basque Parliament some 40,000 signatures against this bill which they consider to be a serious step backwards in the area of child protection and animal welfare.

The Ombudsman has also criticized the initiative because it does not include an impact assessment report on minors and has not heard "the main recipients" - children and adolescents - or "other stakeholders".

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