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西班牙东北部自治区加泰隆尼亚议会将在当地时间28日上午对18万人联名发起的禁止斗牛请愿书进行投票表决，一旦表决通过，该地区将从2012年开始禁止斗牛活动，成为继加纳利群岛1991年宣布禁止斗牛后在西班牙本土第一个禁止斗牛的地区。据悉，这份请愿书是由当地反斗牛组织“够了！”发起的，他们倡议当地议会终结这种“过时又残忍”的活动。在过去几年间，当地对斗牛的热情已经有所减退，每年观看斗牛表演的观众多数为外来游客，巴塞罗那等城市的政府甚至公开宣称反对斗牛。不过，斗牛表演的支持者们表示，斗牛是西班牙很重要的一项产业，每年带来的收入占到西班牙GDP的1.5%；如果发布斗牛禁令，西班牙每年的收入将会减少3亿欧元，同时还会造成几千人失业。斗牛表演从业者甚至声称要起诉当地议会，称这样的禁令违反了合法人权，阻止他们通过正当的方式谋生。
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Bullfighting could be banned in part of Spain as the Catalan parliament votes on whether to prohibit one of the country's most emblematic and controversial traditions on the grounds of animal cruelty. |
Bullfighting could be banned in part of Spain as the Catalan parliament votes on whether to prohibit one of the country's most emblematic and controversial traditions on the grounds of animal cruelty.
The vote on Wednesday to abolish bullfights in the northeastern autonomous region of Catalonia follows an intense campaign by animal rights activists to put an end to an "outdated and cruel" part of Spanish culture.
It has also been seized on by Catalan nationalists as a means to express independence from Madrid at a time of growing political unease between the regional and national government.
The regional government was moved to propose the vote after 180,000 Catalan citizens signed a petition circulated by anti-bullfighting group Prou! Or Enough!
The campaign has won international support, with backing from celebrities including comedian Ricky Gervais and actress Pamela Anderson, who hope it will be the first step to outlawing bullfighting all together.
"This week, the world is watching Catalonia," said Mike Baker, CEO of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) which collected a further 140,000 signatures worldwide, in support of a ban. "Local MPs have the chance to make a bold statement about the region's modern attitude by refusing to allow the continuance of this outdated and cruel practice."
Interest in Spain's "national fiesta" has waned in the region and dozens of local councils, including Barcelona, have declared over the last few years that they are officially "anti-bullfighting".
The Plaza de Toros Monumental is the last of Barcelona's three bullrings to still stage "corridas" and even it struggles to fill a third of its 19,000 seats, often attracting more tourists than locals.
The ban would only affect bullfighting and does not extend to other spectacles involving bulls such as "corre bou", where the public chase bulls through the streets and "bouembolat", which involves attaching fires to the bulls' horns. Both take place during festivals firmly considered part of Catalan culture.
The proposed ban, which would be introduced from 2012, has sparked a furious debate in a country where matadors are celebrated personalities commanding almost as much attention as the top footballers.
In an editorial published on Tuesday, centre-right daily newspaper El Mundo expressed a sentiment echoed across much of Spain – that the move had little to do with animal cruelty but had become a "political issue" in a region where the "idea is to ban everything that is Spanish".
Simon Casas, a former matador turned bullfighting promoter summed it up. "In the name of radical Catalan nationalism, they are striking a blow to the soul of the Spanish people."
Supporters of bullfighting argue that it is an important industry in Spain and claim that it generates about €2.5 billion (£2 billion) a year for the Spanish economy, or 1.5 per cent of GDP. A ban in Catalonia would cost the industry €300 million a year reportedly and put thousands out of work at a time when Spain is already struggling with 20 per cent unemployment.
Workers in the bullfighting industry have threatened to sue the Catalan authorities if the ban goes ahead arguing that it contravenes "human right legislation" by denying them a means to earn a living.
The vote in the 135-seat Catalan parliament on Wednesday morning is expected to be very close with the region's dominant two political parties, the centre right nationalist coalition CiU and the Catalan branch of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero's Socialist party, both allowing their members to vote freely.
If passed Catalonia would be the first region on Spain's mainland to introduce a ban. The Canary Islands outlawed bullfights in 1991.
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(Agencies)
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
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