Change in Spain

Bullfighting has long been part of the culture and identity of Spain.

But at least one region has prohibited the age-old face-off between matador and bull.

Catalonia — the northeastern coastal region of Spain, whose capital is Barcelona — has issued a ban on the practice to take effect in 2012. The regional legislature passed the measure 68 to 55 with nine abstentions, the Associated Press reported.

The region boasted only one bullring, in Barcelona, which staged 15 bullfights a year, compared to 1,000 throughout the nation.

But bullfighting aficionados and conservatives in Spain are dismayed and view the anti-bullfighting movement as anti-Spanish.

Yet one Catalan legislator said the vote was solely about “the suffering of the animal. That is the question, nothing more.”

Jose Montilla, Catalan regional president, opposed the ban, saying that social customs should determine whether the practice dies out or remains.

The action taken in Catalan is expected to embolden animal rights groups to seek similar bans in other parts of Spain. They will find stiff opposition in Madrid and elsewhere.

Spain’s Popular Party seeks a law that will forbid regions to outlaw bullfighting, which is also practiced in Mexico, South America, southern France and Portugal.

On one side, there is love for a cultural tradition; on the other, compassion for animals. It will be interesting to see how the debate plays out.