Summer Bullfight Protests In Mallorca

There are just two municipalities in Mallorca which allow bullfighting and these are Inca and Palma.

In edition 1986 of Euro Weekly News, we published an article in which it was suggested that there was to be a bullfight in Inca on Sunday July 30 but in the event, this never took place, thanks in part, it is believed, due to complaints from animal rights supporters.

There is however a bullfight expected to take place in Palma on Thursday August 10 and thanks to this prior warning, local protest group Mallorca Against Bullfighting (MAB) was able to alert national group AnimaNaturalis to what is due to happen.

This gave them time to make a formal request to allow a protest and, this having been approved by local government will take place at 11am on Sunday August 6 outside of Cort (Balearic Parliament building) in Palma.

An application is also being considered which would allow a further protest to take place on August 10 outside the Palma Bullring.

The idea is to try to persuade those thinking of attending to actually turn away but if this protest does take place, organisers expect supporters of the fights including members of the Vox political party to hold a counter demonstration as they have in the past.

The Facebook group Mallorca Against Bullfighting now has some 1,500 members and has made it clear that it does not believe in using shock tactics on its site and all images are non-explicit.

This is not a group of ‘do good Guiris’ but has been born from the fact that an estimated 80 per cent of Spaniards who have a view want to see bullfighting banned and members are in the main Spanish, although expats from across Europe have been attracted to the sites aims.

Time will now tell whether concerted protest will have any effect on the Balearic Government which is now controlled by the Partido Popular, with the tactical support of Vox which does not form part of the government although its speaker is Vox candidate Gabriel Le Senne.