Colombia is one of just eight countries where bullfights remain legal. Many places in those countries are establishing restrictions on the activity. Courts and city governments in Spain and Mexico have issued rulings that have discouraged the events. In December, Colombia’s Senate approved a measure to ban bullfighting nationwide. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives could take up the legislation when it returns from its three-month break. Bullfights have been a part of life in Colombia for hundreds of years. But much of the public now disapproves of the practice because of ethical concerns. “We are talking about living and feeling beings,” said Andrea Padilla. She is a recently elected senator and longtime animal rights activist who wrote the anti-bullfighting law. “These are mammals…who shouldn’t be exposed to a slow and painful death.” Padilla’s law proposes banning all bullfights within three years. It also demands immediate reform of bullfighting shows. It bars the use of some weapons and the killing of the animal. Bullfighting supporters say those measures would effectively end the tradition.
