Mexico City’s congress has voted to prohibit traditional bullfighting and replace it with a bloodless bullfighting as non-violent alternative, marking a significant step in the ongoing legal struggle to ban the practice entirely.
Animal rights activists welcomed the decision on Tuesday, though it fell short of their goal of a complete ban. Anton Aguilar, executive director of Humane World for Animals Mexico, acknowledged the progress, stating that bulls will no longer endure the repeated stabbing and killing associated with traditional bullfights. However, he cautioned that a bull event without violence does not necessarily mean one without suffering.
Plaza México, the world’s largest bullfighting arena with a capacity of 42,000, will still host bullfights—but without bloodshed. Unlike conventional fights that involve lances, barbed spears, and a final sword strike, matadors in the new format will only use capes to provoke charges from the bulls. Additionally, the animals’ horns will be protected to prevent injuries to matadors or other participants.
The new events will be restricted to 15 minutes, after which the bulls will return to their owners without being harmed or killed. The shift originated from a citizens’ initiative calling for a full ban, but Mexico City’s head of government, Clara Brugada, revised it to introduce the idea of non-violent bullfighting.
Brugada defended the decision, arguing it preserves the economic benefits of the industry, which supporters claim provides employment for tens of thousands of people. She emphasized that cultural traditions evolve over time and that animal welfare is a societal responsibility. President Claudia Sheinbaum also endorsed the measure.
However, the bullfighting industry opposed the regulation, claiming they were not consulted. Salvador Arias, a lawyer from Tauromaquia Mexicana, warned that a similar attempt at bloodless bullfighting in Spain’s Balearic Islands had failed due to lack of audience interest and was ultimately repealed.
Animal rights groups are counting on a similar decline in enthusiasm. While they regretted that the ban was not absolute, the organization Culture Without Torture expressed doubts that the new events would succeed, arguing that true bullfighting fans seek the spectacle of blood.
