The instrumentalization of animals for the achievement of political objectives: the parliamentary debate on bulls in Spain

• Main Author: María José Bernuz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Dret 2020-07-01
• Series: Derecho Animal
• Subjects: bienestar animal; racionalidad legislativa; debates parlamentarios; tauromaquia; antropocentrismo.
• Online Access: https://revistes.uab.cat/da/article/view/504

<p>The question of how we should treat animals does not find agreement among the Spanish population. In the debate on bulls in Spain, this conflict is very clear. If the main arguments from an animalist perspective must be those that give prevalence to the unequivocal rights of animals to not be abused, when speaking about bullfighting, the arguments related with the distribution of competencies, the cultural topic, or the identity question, become prevalent. A highly representative example of this conflict can be found in the parliamentary debates that preceded Law 18/2013 for the regulation of bullfighting as cultural heritage. These debates may therefore be a good starting point for examining the predominance of speciesist reasoning in public discourse on the supposedly “national festival” – a discussion in which even the supposed defense of animals is made in an anthropocentric tone. </p>