Comparecencia del Prof. Pablo de Lora ante la Comissió de Medi Ambient i Habitatge del Parlament de Catalunya (4.3.2010)

Abstract

In his address, Mr de Lora talks about the future prohibition of bullfighting as a spectacle and congratulates the Catalan Parliament for laying the way open for this initiative. Mr de Lora lays out in some detail the cruelty inflicted on bulls as well as the high risk to other animals associated with the event such as horses. He seeks to dispel what he feels is the specious argument that its ongoing existence is linked with culture and history and quotes a well-known advocate of bullfighting, Mario Vargas Llosa, as admitting that it is “impregnated with violence and cruelty”. He also quotes the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, stating that unrestricted liberty gives way to moral degradation in society and in the specific case of bulls in bullfighting, causes unacceptable harm and cruelty. He concludes by arguing that animals must benefit from a set of moral rules to protect them, comparing their plight with weaker members of human society such as the disabled and children, whom we seek to protect.