Madrid – A centuries-old Spanish festival tradition culminating with the killing of a bull came to an end Thursday when the regional government of Castile and Leon adopted a decree banning the practice.
Reaching back to the Middle Ages, the bloody tradition in the Northern Spanish city of Tordesillas was especially abhorred by animal rights activists, who had protested the practice for years.
As part of the annual Toro de la Vega festival, a fighting bull was released into the city streets and then driven out toward a field, where participants stabbed it with lances until it eventually died.
According to the regional government, the decree will make sure that a tradition from the 16th century would have to be adapted to adhere to the “culture and sensibilities of the 21st century.”
It’s now up to the government in Tordesillas to decide whether to continue the yearly tradition with a modified version where the bull is not killed. (dpa/NAN)
