From Morrissey to the Vatican: The Growing Global Push to End Bullfighting
With Pope Leo XIV at the helm, the Catholic Church has an opportunity to continue Pope Francis’ legacy of compassion by condemning bullfighting and ending the Church’s association with these bloody spectacles. These violent spectacles fly in the face of Christ’s teachings of compassion, mercy, and respect for life—and the Church has a moral obligation to say so.
PETA Is Putting Our Faith in His Holiness to Help End Bullfighting
PETA entities around the world continue to urge Pope Leo XIV and the Catholic Church to cut ties with the violent, deadly bullfighting industry. Keep reading to see PETA entity demonstrations, appeals to the Vatican, and other efforts to help end the torture of bulls.
From demonstrations in Vatican City to high-profile appeals from celebrities and nearly 200,000 Catholic supporters, PETA entities have continued building pressure on religious and political leaders to reject bullfighting.
Whether through Vatican demonstrations, celebrity advocacy, large-scale public projections, or protests at bullfighting events themselves, PETA entities continue exposing a simple truth: Cruelty is not a religious tradition, and bullfighting has no place in today’s world.
Here are some of the latest efforts.
Morrissey Joins PETA’s Call to End Bullfighting
Legendary musician Morrissey joined PETA UK to urge Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to ban bullfighting.
In a letter to the prime minister, Morrissey wrote that bullfighting “continues to tarnish” Spain’s reputation and urged him to “please use your good office to do something that the world and your people will love you for, and end this barbarism.”
Morrissey’s appeal comes as lawmakers consider legislation that would strip bullfighting of its protected cultural status in Spain. His message echoes what compassionate people around the world already know: Cruelty is never culture.
PETA Supporters Confront Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican
A dramatic protest interrupted Pope Leo XIV’s general audience in St. Peter’s Square, when two PETA supporters wearing “Bullfighting Is a Sin” T-shirts confronted the pontiff and urged him to sever the Catholic Church’s ties to bull torture—before security tackled them.
Holding signs reading “Pope Leo: Help End Bullfighting,” the animal defenders called on the Pope to denounce the ritualized killing of bulls before security hauled them away. Every year, thousands of bulls are slaughtered in bullfights held in honor of Catholic saints.
Animal Allies Arrested at the Vatican Over Catholic Church’s Ties to Cruel Bullfights
PETA supporters wearing T-shirts reading “Stop Blessing Corridas!” and holding a banner featuring Jesus proclaiming that torturing animals is a sin were arrested in front of St. Peter’s Square during the Jubilee of Consecrated Life as monks, nuns, and priests looked on in shock.
‘Virgin Mary’ and Dozens of ‘Dead Bulls’ Make Bloody Plea at Running of the Bulls
During the Running of the Bulls at the San Fermín festival, animal advocates from PETA UK and Spanish animal protection group AnimaNaturalis recreated the Pietà—Michelangelo’s depiction of the Virgin Mary cradling the body of Jesus Christ. Instead of Jesus, she was mourning a “dead bull” as dozens of other “bloody bulls” lay lifeless in a pile around them, wearing nothing but black underwear and “horns.”
During the San Fermín festival, a violent mob chases bulls through the narrow streets of Pamplona. The bulls risk crashing into barriers and walls, falling and breaking their legs, or colliding with each other. Then, in the ring, men taunt and stab each bull with a lance and several harpoon-like banderillas before the matador stabs the exhausted animal with a sword. PETA has previously offered Pamplona’s mayor €298,000 to cancel the Running of the Bulls—an offer that still stands.
Real Men Don’t Hurt Bulls: Airborne Message From PETA UK and PACMA
At the Bous a la Mar festival in Dénia, Spain, where humans force panicked bulls to jump into the sea, a sky-high message appeared, courtesy of PETA UK and the Spanish animal rights party PACMA.
Pope Leo XIV Gets a Message From 200,000 Devout Animal Defenders: ‘End the War on Bulls’!
After Pope Leo XIV was elected, compassion made a bold appearance in Vatican City. PETA UK lit up the Apostolic Palace with a massive nighttime projection, delivering a powerful message from nearly 200,000 caring Catholics: Bullfighting is a sin. The petitions—originally directed at his predecessor, Pope Francis—urged the Vatican to denounce this bloody spectacle. PETA continues to urge Pope Leo XIV to carry the torch of kindness and speak up for bulls.
PETA Urges Pope Leo XIV to Honor Pope Francis’ Legacy of Compassion
Following the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, PETA sent the pontiff a letter respectfully requesting that he honor Pope Francis’ compassionate legacy (the name chosen in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Animals) by severing the Catholic Church’s ties to bullfighting.
“We pray that you will find it in your heart to follow Pope Francis’ compassionate legacy by doing what he surely would have done had he had more time on Earth, and cut the Catholic Church’s sacrilegious ties to the torture killing of bulls for entertainment,” wrote PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk. “In predominantly Catholic countries, this hideously cruel blood sport … survives in part because the Church permits its promoters to use the Church’s and the saints’ names.”
PETA to the Vatican: “Don’t Let His Legacy Go Up in Smoke”
Shortly after Pope Leo XIV’s election, PETA UK rolled out a powerful message across Rome, urging the Catholic Church not to let Pope Francis’ kind legacy go up in smoke. PETA UK launched the eye-catching appeal on 100 pedestrian billboards throughout the city—including near the Vatican. The message encouraged Pope Leo XIV to follow in Pope Francis’ footsteps by embracing mercy for all our fellow animals.
Pope Francis, who was chosen as PETA’s Person of the Year a decade ago, wrote in his encyclical Laudato Si’, “Every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity.” As far back as the 16th century, Pope Pius V—who has since been canonized—banned bullfighting, which he described as “cruel and base spectacles of the devil and not of man” and contrary to “Christian piety and charity.” The doctrine of the Catholic Church clearly states that humans should not “cause animals to suffer or die needlessly,” yet Catholic priests often officiate at religious ceremonies in bullrings and minister to bullfighters in arena chapels—actions that should be unequivocally banned by the Vatican.
PETA Entity Efforts Before Pope Leo XIV’s Election
Before Pope Leo XIV’s election, PETA entities repeatedly urged Pope Francis to condemn bullfighting and sever the Catholic Church’s ties to the spectacle. Those efforts included demonstrations, billboards, public appeals, and messages from members of the clergy.
The campaign began with a demonstration outside Vatican City in 2023 and included protests during papal appearances, provocative appeals across Rome, and messages highlighting how bullfighting contradicts Christian teachings of compassion and mercy.
Three Catholic priests from Canada, France, and the U.K. also wrote to Pope Francis, explaining that the torture and killing of bulls conflicted with Christ’s teachings and the pontiff’s own principles of kindness and respect. In 2024, PETA UK placed 100 billboards across Rome depicting Jesus protecting a bull from a matador, and supporters later confronted the pope during his procession through Luxembourg City while wearing shirts reading “Stop Blessing Corridas!” and holding signs proclaiming “Bullfighting Is a Sin!”
Bullfights Are Sinful
Every year, humans slaughter tens of thousands of bulls in festivals held in honor of Catholic saints. During these events, bulls endure prolonged torment before becoming weak from blood loss. Eventually, a matador attempts to kill each exhausted animal by plunging a sword into his lungs. Then another assailant cuts his spinal cord with a knife. The bull may be physically paralyzed but still feel it as workers cut off his ears or tail, present them to the matador as trophies, and drag his body from the arena.
Take Action for Bulls
As the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV has the opportunity to turn a new page for the Church—one that honors all of God’s creation with kindness and respect. Join us in urging His Holiness to denounce bullfighting:
