Bogota eyes bullfighting ban after protests

Source: Guardian News


January 24 2017 10:26 PM



Colombia’s highest court is to consider a national ban on bullfighting just days after protesters battled with riot police as they tried to disrupt the first bullfight in the country’s capital city in four years.

Officers used pepper spray and teargas against the demonstrators on Sunday as they shouted “murderers” and “torturers” at bullfighting enthusiasts on their way to Bogota’s iconic redbrick bull ring.

The constitutional court ruled in 2015 that bullfighting was part of Colombia’s cultural heritage and could not be banned. But today, that same court will debate an opinion by one of its magistrates which reportedly argues that the practice violates Colombian laws against mistreatment of animals.

The court is also studying a separate case that asks the court should penalise any actions related to abuse of animals not only in bullfighting but in cock fights and rodeo-type games where animals can be mistreated.

Read more: http://www.gulf-times.com/story/530283/Bogota-eyes-bullfighting-ban-after-protests