COLOMBIA: Bogota's Mayor Gustavo Petro proposes banning bullfights as people protest outside bullring

Record ID: 375544

  • Title: COLOMBIA: Bogota's Mayor Gustavo Petro proposes banning bullfights as people protest outside bullring
  • Date: 17th January 2012
  • Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (JANUARY 15, 2012) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF PEOPLE PROTESTING IN FRONT OF THE BULLFIGHTING ARENA VARIOUS OF MAN WEARING A BULL MASK PROTESTING PEOPLE HOLDING SIGNS PROTESTING AGAINST THE BULLFIGHTS; BEAGLE DOG WEARING T-SHIRT
  • Embargoed: 1st February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Colombia, Colombia
  • Country: Colombia
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE1PSJ1RNA415U56P1KCLAZN6Z
  • Story Text: Bogota's mayor wants to ban bullfighting in Colombia's capital, calling it a dated practice that glorifies animal mistreatment and death.
    On Sunday (January 16), people gathered outside a bullring in Bogota to protest fights traditionally held in January and February.
    This bullring in Bogota seats some 14,500 and is among 86 arenas throughout the country, according to the anti-bullfighting website www.cas-international.org.
    Bogota's Mayor Gustavo Petro said he wants to turn it into an arts centre.
    "It's a public place, a bullfighting arena, and it should be used for the city's numerous cultural events. But it should be closed to any possibility of shows revolving around death. All shows, culture, and art revolving around life are welcome," he said.
    Protesters smeared blood on their faces to protest the violent shows, something Javier Esteban Forero hoped would get their message across to people.
    "With what we are doing, putting blood on ourselves, we want to show people that the suffering of the animals, as I said before, is not a kind of cultural activity," he said.
    But inside, the show went on. Matadores used their colourful capes and lances on the balls as spectators looked on.
    Hernando Alsate, a fan of the bullfights, said that the bullfights should be allowed to continue.
    "I suppose the mayor is an intelligent person. He should analyse things. The fact that he doesn't like it doesn't affect me and others or like me. Talking in first person, I don't like soccer, but that is no reason for me to go and stand in front of the door of a stadium and insult people so that they don't enter," Alsate said.
    CAS International's website says that bullfighting is still very prevalent in Colombia, but that the country leads the region in the number of towns considering legislation to ban the bullfights.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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