Huge Victory! European Parliament Votes to End Subsidies for Bullfighting

This morning in the European Parliament, 438 out of 687 MEPs voted in favour of an amendment that would stop over €100 million in EU agricultural subsidies from being used to raise bulls for bullfights.

This is a wonderful step forward and could be the final nail in the coffin for Spain’s already struggling bullfighting industry. As bullrings increasingly stand empty and fewer and fewer Spaniards show any interest in attending the violent events, government handouts are the only thing keeping this cruel “tradition” alive.

Tens of thousands of people all over Europe have contacted their MEPs in the past few weeks to ask them to vote for the amendment, which was tabled by Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout. Thank you so much to everyone who took action. Your messages clearly had an impact.

PETA France was also outside the Parliament this morning, giving MEPs some last-minute encouragement to do the right thing before the vote:

PETA France protests EU bullfighting subsidies

When a similar amendment was voted on in the Parliament just last year, it was rejected. It just goes to show how quickly we’re making progress in our campaign against cruel “sports”.

So what happens next? Before the amendment becomes law – and the subsidies finally stop – it needs to be approved by EU finance ministers. We’ll keep you posted on upcoming developments and how you can help. But rest assured that today’s news represents a huge step forward in the campaign to end barbaric bullfighting for good. 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – Foundation, 28-10-2015