Organisations call on European Parliament to end EU subsidies for bullfighting
Bulls of fire is an extremely cruel Spanis
h bloodsport. In it, torches are tied to bulls’ horns and then set on fire, all for the entertainment of the crowd. This atrocious physical and mental torture, considered a tradition, takes the name of ‘Toro Jubilo’ or ‘Bou Embolat’ and is still practiced in two Spanish regions, namely Catalonia and Valencia.
Organisations from Spain, Portugal, France and the Netherlands called on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Wednesday, 17 October, at the European Parliament in Brussels to end EU agricultural subsidies for breeding bulls for bullfights and cruel bull festivals.
Organisations call on European Parliament to end EU subsidies for bullfighting | Picture: CAS International
Meeting at European Parliament
During a meeting with MEPs, representatives of the organisations discussed why EU agricultural subsidies for the bullfighting sector must end and explored ways to exclude this funding from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2028–2034.
The meeting was organised by MEP Niels Fuglsang and the Dutch organisation CAS International.
A new CAP after 2027
The meeting took place as the European Commission, EU Member States and the European Parliament work on the new Common Agricultural Policy for the period after 2027. CAS International called for a clear commitment to be included in the new agricultural policy: no EU subsidies should be used to breed bulls for bullfights or cruel bull festivals.
Maite van Gerwen, Director of CAS International, said:
“By providing agricultural subsidies to breeders of these bulls, taxpayers’ money from people across the EU is being used to facilitate and perpetuate severe animal suffering. We consider this unjustifiable, and it must stop.”
Maite van Gerwen, director of CAS International | Picture: CAS International
An estimated €200 million in public funds is spent annually on breeding bulls used for these purposes. The exact amount cannot be established due to a lack of transparency regarding how EU agricultural subsidies are allocated.
Marta Esteban Miñano, President of the Spanish organisation Fundación Animal Guardians, said:
“The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was created to provide quality food for Europeans. However, millions of euros a year from the CAP (around 200 million according to the bullfighting industry) end up on fighting bull farms, whose main purpose is bullfighting events.”
Marta Esteban Miñano, president of Fundación Animal Guardians | Jannet, Vice-President of the French organisation CRAC Europe, added:
“According to the Occitanie Regional Chamber of Accounts, bullfighting is structurally unprofitable and survives only because of public subsidies. CAP payments to breeders whose bulls are destined for the arena should be abolished, as they constitute indirect public support for this activity”
Didier Bonnet and Carolina Andrade, CRAC Europe |opposes bullfighting
The widespread support for ending these subsidies is reflected in a public opinion survey commissioned by CAS International in 2024 and conducted by Ipsos I&O Publiek on attitudes towards bullfighting in Spain, France and Portugal.
A majority of the population in all three countries opposes bullfighting and believes that public money should not be spent on facilitating it. The notion that bullfighting is inseparable from the culture of these countries is therefore misleading: a majority of their citizens want it to end.
Cristina Ibáñez, Head of Political Affairs at AnimaNaturalis Spain, said:
“For years, European citizens have made it increasingly clear that they do not want their money to be used to subsidise bullfighting and the suffering it entails. Yet political institutions continue to lag behind this social demand. We are tired of seeing public funds used to sustain an industry that is increasingly rejected by society. It is time for the EU to listen to its citizens, stop financing bullfighting and take a clear step towards its abolition.”
Cristina Ibáñez, AnimaNaturalis Spain | Picture: CAS International
Rita Silva, President of the Portuguese organisation ANIMAL, said:
“It is absolutely unacceptable that European taxpayers’ money continues to fund an activity rooted in violence and animal suffering. The European Union cannot claim to uphold animal welfare while allowing public funds to support the very opposite. The next Common Agricultural Policy must put an end to this contradiction.”
Rita Silva, president of ANIMAL | Picture: CAS International
MEPs acknowledged the need to address EU subsidies going to breeders of fighting bulls.
Among those present at the meeting were MEPs Niels Fuglsang and Anja Hazekamp | Picture: CAS International
The European Parliament has also previously voted against these subsidies. Marta Esteban Miñano of Fundación Animal Guardians said:
“The European Parliament has already voted twice against subsidies for bullfighting, and we demand that the new CAP include the necessary conditionalities so that not a single euro from European citizens goes towards maintaining this cruel activity.”
51,771 signatures
The event follows the presentation of an international petition calling for an end to these subsidies.
On 29 September, CAS International and World Animal Protection Denmark presented 51,771 signatures to MEP Niels Fuglsang at the European Parliament. The petition was supported by more than 50 other animal welfare organisations. The signatures came from 93 countries, including all 27 EU Member States.
During the meeting on 14 October, organisations from Spain, Portugal, France and the Netherlands shared their perspectives and discussed with MEPs how the new CAP could prevent EU taxpayers’ money from contributing to the breeding of bulls for bullfighting and cruel bull festivals.
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