Ban on torture instruments in bullfights in Mexico City
04-03-2025A groundbreaking court ruling has banned the use of torture instruments in bullfights in Mexico City. This decision, made on February 26, 2025, by a federal judge, marks a historic moment in the fight against animal cruelty in Mexico. CAS International sees this as a first step: we advocate for a complete ban on bullfighting. Even so-called ‘bloodless’ bullfights still cause suffering to the animals.
Ban on torture instruments in bullfights in Mexico City | Picture: CAS International / AnimaNaturalis
The Mexican organization Todas y todos por amor a los toros has appealed to prevent any further bullfights from taking place at Plaza México. Judge Zúñiga has ordered the authorities of the Benito Juárez district (Mexico City) to stop granting permits for events involving torture instruments. Bullfighters use these objects, such as swords and banderillas (decorated barbed sticks), to inflict pain and bleeding on the bull during the fight.
Effects of torture instruments
During bullfights, bulls suffer from muscle injuries, kidney failure, asphyxiation, and a slow death from blood loss. In her ruling, Judge Zúñiga referred to national and local animal protection laws:
“There is no cultural right that justifies torture.”
Despite this ruling, the managers of Plaza México have announced that they will continue organizing bullfights. Mario Zulaica, manager of Plaza México, even defends bullfighting, claiming that seeing blood motivates bulls to attack. However, veterinary research contradicts this claim, showing that bulls do not attack out of instinct but react to the acute pain caused by the torture instruments. The animals ultimately die from asphyxiation or hypovolemic shock (a condition caused by severe blood loss). They remain fully conscious until the final stab.
The court ruling states:
“There is no doubt that this activity causes excessive pain and a painful death. Therefore, bullfighting cannot be protected under cultural rights, as it is fundamentally incompatible with the right to a healthy environment.”
A model for the rest of Mexico
The ruling not only has direct consequences for Mexico City but also fuels the debate on bullfighting in the rest of Mexico. A fierce public discussion is also taking place in other countries where bullfighting occurs. In Colombia, for example, a decision has been made to ban bullfighting starting in 2027. And in Spain, 715,606 signatures were officially submitted in February for a citizens’ initiative calling for the repeal of the law that protects bullfighting as cultural heritage.
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715,606 signatures to end bullfighting as cultural heritage in Spain
