January was a month in which many interesting developments occurred and successes were made. Below, you will find a number of news items in a row:

-    For us the year starts well because bullfighting is banned in the Spanish state of Catalonia  since January 1, 2012. In 2010 the Catalan parliament decided to ban bullfighting in Catalonia after CAS International, along with various animal protection organizations, campaigned intensively for the abolition of bullfighting in Catalonia. You can read here more about the process leading to the prohibition of bullfighting in Catalonia. The last bullfight in Catalonia took place on September 25, 2011.

-    CAS International is very happy to announce the fantastic news that we have reached number 100 in the list of anti-bullfighting municipalities! We keep a list of the number of municipalities that were declared to be against bullfighting in bullfighting countries. With the newly added three Basque municipalities of Barakaldo, Abanto-Zierbena, and Santurtzi we have now reached the grand number of 100 municipalities. These communities have decided no longer to permit festivities or activities during which animals are maltreated. Click here for the list of 100 anti-bullfighting municipalities.

 Bulls in the field © Sabine Joosten

-    The mayor of the Colombian capital of Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, has decided to stop supporting bullfighting. Petro even intends to stop subsidizing bullfighting.

-    In Popayan (Colombia) no bullfights will be organized this year. The municipality prioritizes financing other types of events.

-    The Venezuelan state of Táchira has prohibited access for children under 12 to bullfighting because these are harmful to the mental health of children. Young people between 12 and 18 years may visit a bullfight only when they are accompanied by their parents.

-     As a consequence of the huge economic losses during the bullfighting season of 2011, the French town of Bayonne makes cutbacks of 40% to 50% of the subsidies for the bullfighting industry in 2012.

 Bullring of Bayonne © CAS International

-    The bullfighting industry in the Spanish city of A Coruña (Galicia) lost nearly 1 million euros in the last three years. Of this amount, 426,000 euros are coming from subsidies that the city of A Coruña provided to the bullfighting industry. The platform ‘Galicia Mellor Sen Touradas’, where CAS International is part of, has denounced the loss of these public funds.

-    While Catalonia has banned bullfighting, it still protects other traditions with bulls. In January a proposal for new rules on 'correbous' (bull runs in which several bulls run through the streets chased by a mob) was presented. It states that municipalities which do not have traditions like these may be authorized to organize them without any problem. Moreover, it is no problem to use the bulls for a longer period of time, which actually prolongs the suffering of the animals.