Mexico City Gets Closer to Banning Bullfights With Progressive New Ruling
Progress for bulls! A federal court just ordered Benito Juarez—the municipality in Mexico City that is home to the world’s largest bullfighting ring, Plaza de Toros México—to stop issuing permits for events that involve abusing or killing animals. If the ruling is finalized, bullfighting permits can only be issued if the events do not include activities or instruments that could cause “physical or psychological harm” to animals.
The court also ordered authorities to repeal articles that allow for the abuse of bulls in Mexico City’s constitution. This compassionate move—which comes amid PETA Latino’s passionate campaigning to end bullfighting—is a major step towards banning bullfights in Mexico City altogether.
The judge’s ruling notes that torture cannot be done in the name of culture. Bullfighting causes immense suffering to living and feeling animals and violates humans’ right to a healthy environment. By normalizing the violent slaughter of animals for spectacle, bullfighting also affects children’s emotional well-being.
Why Bullfighting Should Be Banned Everywhere
Bullfighting is a celebration of cruelty, not culture. “Bullfights” aren’t really “fights,” anyway—in these bloody events, humans strategically set bulls up to lose. Humans force them into a ring, where fighters repeatedly provoke, taunt, and mutilate them in front of noisy, jeering crowds. When the animals are too weak and disoriented from blood loss to defend themselves, a matador delivers the final and (sometimes) fatal blow. If the matador fails to kill the bull, he may be paralyzed—but still conscious—when humans crudely drag him out of the ring.
If the crowd is happy with the matador, he may cut off the bull’s ears—and sometimes his tail—to present them as “trophies.” Then, another bull enters the arena to endure the same torment.
No “tradition” should involve forcing animals to endure slow, agonizing deaths. It’s time to end bullfighting in Mexico City and every other place that still permits it.
PETA Latino’s Work to End Bullfighting
PETA Latino’s massive campaigns against bullfighting have included eye-catching demonstrations, PSAs with celebrities like Sir Paul McCartney and Sara Corrales, and much more. Our work has helped pave the way for groundbreaking victories: In Mexico, the states of Coahuila, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, and Sonora have banned bullfighting.
Additionally, PETA Latino’s joint push with over 800 other animal protection groups from around the world resulted in an announcement by Movistar Plus+—a major streaming platform in Latin America and Spain—that it would no longer air bullfights on its Toros channel.
What YOU Can Do to Help Spare Bulls
Bulls are sensitive, social animals who are protective of their fellow herd members—they do not want to suffer for humans’ “entertainment.” Speak up against bullfighting everywhere:
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