The bullfighting debate returns to Portugal’s parliament, rather appropriately on World Children’s Day, as the specific aspect to be debated is the participation of under-18-year-olds in the activity that continues to cause argument across the country.
MPs from People Animals Nature, the Left Bloc and The Greens want to stop under-18-year-olds participating in bullfighting activities.
The attempt to end bullfighting is not a new issue in Parliament but there now is a sitting MP from the People Animals Nature (PAN) political party who aims to stop all bullfighting activity in Portugal.
The latest debate between pro-bullfighting and anti-bullfighting factions in parliament will be triggered by three bills presented by PAN, the Left Bloc and The Greens to prevent the participation of minors in bullfighting activities.
André Silva of PAN said "There are opinions, including from the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which compares bullfighting as damaging to a minor, as damaging as child labour or drug trafficking, taking into account the degree of danger and degradation."
Silva argues that bullfighting is a violent spectacle, and therefore it does not make sense to prohibit a person under 18-years-old from watching a movie in the cinema, which is fiction, and then allow a 12-year-old child to participate in the spectacle of killing an animal for mere entertainment.
The spokesman for the Portuguese Federation of Bullfighting, Helder Milheiro pointed out that the legislation was updated a year ago, "is up to date, it was analyzed and validated by all stakeholders, so there is no concrete reason to justify a return to this matter unless the attempt is to form policy based on prejudice and demagoguery."
Milheiro says he does not understand how "someone wants the right to prohibit access to culture that is constitutionally protected," as bullfighting is, thus allowing it to side-step many animal protection laws.
The federation spokesman believes that "the State should promote access of all citizens to cultural diversity," and he accuses the three political parties of submitting proposals to parliament that "are an attack on the rights of children, not only by limiting their acccess to culture but their right to choose an occupation," claiming that the bullfighting profession is much more demanding in many respects than other professions.
Last year’s updating of the laws covering bullfights put the 16-year-old limit up to 18. But the Left Bloc does not agree with this amendment and wants an increasing of two years, calling bullfighting “abhorrent.”
The National Commission for Protection of Children and Young People at Risk states clearly that "the current legislation is contrary to the opinions of various entities and international conventions."
Helder Milheiro said the safety standards are far higher than in many sports "such as martial arts, go-karting, and even football."
