Peru: justice rejects request to ban bullfighting

The Peruvian Constitutional Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal filed by animal protection associations which demanded a ban on bullfighting and cock-fighting, which are very popular in the country.

After four hours of deliberation, the highest Peruvian court ruled that the rule that the two traditional shows do not fall under the law on the protection of animals is in accordance with the Constitution. "There were not the necessary votes for this rule to be declared unconstitutional , " announced the President of the Court, Marianella Ledesma. Bullfights and cockfighting therefore remain considered expressions of Peruvian culture, as provided for by the law on the protection and welfare of animals passed in 2000. The decision is not subject to appeal.

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The appeal had been filed in October 2018 by a Peruvian, Maria Eguiluz, representing 5286 of her fellow citizens who wanted an end to "any type of cruel spectacle involving animals" . To be approved, five of the seven judges who make up the Constitutional Court had to rule favorably.

Arrived in Peru in the 16th century with the Spanish conquistadors, bullfighting and cockfighting remained very popular in the country, where there are more arenas than football stadiums. The arenas of Acho, in Lima, built in 1766, are among the oldest in the world. Pro and anti-corrida demonstrations have taken place in recent days in the country. "As a Peruvian, I do not consider it a Peruvian tradition, because it is something that was brought by the Spaniards" during the colonial period, denounced to AFP, Ingrid Chavarri, activist of animal cause. "For me, this is not animal abuse, for me (the bull) is a being that was created for that, a being with a body made for that and a being that lives thanks to that. If there were no bullfights, this whole species would disappear, ” says Juan Manuel Roca Rey, a breeder.

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Many families, often poor, also devote themselves to raising cocks for fighting. There are around 700 “gallodromes” in the country.