Parliamentary Debates on Bullfighting in Spain: Animals Lost in Translation?

The parliamentary debate on the Law 18/2013 on the regulation of bullfighting as cultural heritage offers a very representative example of the social and public discussion on the so-called ‘national fiesta’ in Spain. It can thus be a good starting point for a study of the rationality and justification of this piece of legislation (which originally stems from a citizen legislative initiative). The legislative deliberation on bullfighting in the Spanish Parliament does not reflect, as one might think a priori, a certain position on cruelty to animals, which is associated with this type of spectacle. Rather, MPs leave this substantial issue aside, and embark on a discussion about the legal status of bullfighting as a ‘cultural good’—cultural legislation largely belongs to the legislative competences of the regions. Moreover, MPs seize on the bullfighting issue to focus on the construction of a national identity (the Spanish one) that one must either defend or annihilate.