The UN Warns: Minors In The Bulls, No Thanks

The Committee on the Rights of the Child ruled last week against Spain continuing to allow minors to attend bullfighting events.

Based on the CoPPA report (Coordinator of Professionals for the Prevention of Abuse) presented by the Franz Weber Foundation (FFW) within its Childhood Without Violence campaign, the international body urges Spain to protect children from violence against women. bullfighting.

“In order to prevent the harmful effects of bullfighting on children, the Committee recommends that the State party prohibit the participation of children under 18 years of age as bullfighters and spectators in bullfights,” the conclusions indicate.

To date, children in Spain continue to attend and participate in bullfighting activities where minors are exposed to situations of extreme violence and danger to their integrity, not only psychological but also physical, as occurs in more than fifty bullfighting schools in active, as reported by FFW in its report.

Thus, Nietzsche’s Horse, eldiario.es animal rights blog, has published a video seeking the opinion of Gehad Madi and Velma Todorova, members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, as well as experts and personalities from around the world of Spanish culture speaking out against the exposure of minors to bullfighting.

“ Bullfighting is extreme violence for children. It should be prohibited for everyone under the age of 18. Not only bullfighting children, but also those who attend as spectators. We at the Committee are very concerned about protecting children from being exposed to such violence. And we hope that the Government of Spain and its different communities will prohibit their participation in bullfighting activities, ”says Gehad Madi.

This UN position reaffirms what the animal defense movement has been arguing for years: that bullfighting is a violent practice and, as such, encourages violence.

Both bullfights and bullfighting festivals in general are activities where animal abuse is the protagonist because the celebration revolves precisely around the idea that inflicting pain, chasing and harassing an animal is something fun and pleasant.

Transmitting to children and young people that traditions are above values legitimizes other forms of violence and abuse that we as a society try to eradicate.

That from an organization such as the Committee on the Rights of the Child urges Spain to protect its childhood from the harmful effects of exposure to bullfighting is an outstanding advance and launches a powerful message that pushes this anachronistic activity one step closer to your demise.

And it is that 84% of young people between 16 and 24 years old reject bulls, according to the survey carried out by World Animal Protection in 2016. That is to say, the new generations not only have no interest in bullfighting but also position themselves against it. this cultural tradition. Hence, the bullfighting sector trembles every time it encounters obstacles in its access to childhood and its determination to promote activities designed for minors; It is his last desperate attempt to survive.

This wake-up call that from the UN requests the Government to include bullfighting among the practices that put at risk the adequate protection of children’s rights has for the moment obtained a tepid response from the executive, appealing to the different sensitivities of the Autonomous Communities and trying to rely on current legislation.

However, it is no longer possible to silence the social clamor that has been demanding for years a culture capable of expressing itself without cruelty, without abuse and without violence.

Because we want to leave a better planet for our children, but also better children for our planet.