Colombia passes law banning bullfights

Colombian President Gustavo Petro promulgated on Monday a law banning bullfights in the country, marking the end of a practice that was recognized by the Constitution as part of the culture.

In front of a crowd gathered in the bullring in central Bogota, renamed Plaza Cultural La Santamaria, Gustavo Petro celebrated the adoption of this law, known as “No more +Olé+” (more of “Olé”), intended to put an end, according to Mr. Petro, to the “right to kill” animals for spectacle.

“Culture, and even less justice, cannot say that it is a culture to kill sentient beings, living beings, for pleasure,” Mr. Petro said, referring to a ruling by the Constitutional Court dating from 2018 which authorized bullfights in towns and villages with a bullfighting tradition.

“If we have fun killing the animal, then we will have fun killing human beings,” Mr. Petro told animal rights activists and citizens chanting “No More +Olé+”, a slogan which accompanied the course of the bill adopted in Congress at the end of May.

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L' Anti-bullfighting influencer and activist Luana Delgado highlighted that the promulgation of this law took place in this arena, “a place where we saw blood, where we saw death, and where we are now going see the culture”.

The law has a national scope and prohibits other bullfighting shows, bullfighting places can be transformed into cultural spaces.

“Today, we put an end to a long history of suffering”, said Jesus Merchan, animal rights activist, to applause.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro (C) during the signing of the “No Más Olé” law in Santamaría Toro square in Bogota, July 22, 2024 © AFP – Luis ACOSTA

The law will come into force in 2027 and during this “transitional” period, the State will have to guarantee alternative jobs for people who depend directly or indirectly on bullfighting and adapt the country's arenas to sporting and cultural activities.

Colombia thus joins the list of South American countries that prohibit bullfighting, such as Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Guatemala.

Bullfights are still organized in Ecuador, Spain, France, Mexico, Peru, Portugal and Venezuela.

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