The Spanish Constitutional Court [official website] on Thursday overturned [press release, PDF, in Spanish] the bullfighting ban in Catalonia. The court reasoned that governmental intrusion into state ordered and sponsored entertainment undermines individual states’ rights to maintain common cultural heritage—bullfighting is considered “common cultural heritage” by law. The court noted that bullfighting has an undeniable presence in the social fabric and reality of Spain and that such a ban against cultural expression cannot be supported as long as the expression is not illegal or violates fundamental rights.

The bullfighting ban in Catalonia [text, PDF, Spanish] was ratified by lawmakers in the northeastern Spanish region in 2010 as a way to separate themselves from what is considered a prime example of Spanish patrimony. Bullfighting and animal cruelty in France, Spain, and other countries has been and continues to be a controversial issue. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of India banned a popular bull fighting event [JURIST report] at this year’s harvest festival in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The decision comes in response to protesters who claim that the sport of Jallikattu, in which men chase bulls to grab prizes off their horns, amounts to animal cruelty. In 2012 the French Constitutional Court rejected a national ban on bullfighting [JURIST report] that had been proposed as an addendum to an animal cruelty law.