Good News: Bull Ring Being Demolished!
There is no better living proof of the decline of the bullfighting industry than when bullrings are demolished after all attempts to 'save' them have failed. This is what has happened in Catalonia with the closure of rings in Girona and Lloret de Mar, two towns where the anti-bullfighting movement is very strong.
Work has already begun in Girona (see the photo) and will soon start in Lloret . One hundred and twenty seven houses will be built on the site of the former, and offices space and public square will replace the ring in Lloret. It is with great pleasure that we have taken both off our boycott list.
This leaves Catalonia with only two bullrings. One in Tarragona, and the other in Barcelona. In 2004 Barcelona declared itself anti-bullfighting (and this is why we did not add it in our list) but the local authority did not have to powers to ban 'La Monumental', the remaining bullring in the Catalan capital, from staging bullfights.
However, the symbolic declaration of Barcelona's opposition to the sport gave momentum to the anti-bullfighting movement which led to a Bill for the banning of bullfighting in the whole of Catalonia, not just in its capital. The demolition of the Girona and Lloret's bullrings have been made in an anticipation that the Bill will most likely become law. The days of the two remaining Catalan bullrings are numbered.
And it is not only happening in Catalonia. The bullring in the Portuguese town of Cascais is destined to disappear very soon.