No more bullfighting. The town of Vergèze announces the end of the practice of bullfighting, not for moral reasons, but for safety.
"These férias now generate too many and too heavy constraints for a municipality such as ours", explains Mayor Pascale Fortunat-Deschamps to the newspaper 20 minutes. On October 16, the municipal council of the city of Vergèze in the Gard took the decision to ban bullfights on its territory. The end of the Féria du Rhôny, a traditional gathering held in spring. "There is no question here of discussing the prohibition of bullfighting and in no case of passing a moral or philosophical judgment on this practice. Bullfights are legal, everyone is free to enjoy them, to attend or not", said the mayor in a statement published on the Facebook page of the city of Vergèze. "Still under the trauma of the accident that occurred in May 2019 which could have been even more dramatic and which revealed our inadequacies in safely organizing this type of event. Today these férias generate too many and too many heavy constraints for a municipality such as ours. In addition, the expensive cost and the low attendance of Vergèzois aficionados to novilladas, naturally lead to the replacement of the Rhôny feria by a great festive bullfighting weekend ", she adds. The bullfights will therefore be replaced by a "big festive bullfighting weekend". There will be no more killing, but the establishment of Camargue races. Between the dismay of some inhabitants, according to France 3, and the joy of animal protection associations, opinions are divided.
And in the rest of France?
Bullfighting is an ancient practice in Spain. It is to a lesser extent in the south of France. In terms of animal welfare, "Animals are living beings endowed with sensitivity. Subject to the laws which protect them, animals are subject to the property regime", details the law of February 16, 2015. The Penal Code, in its article 521-1, punishes two years' imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros. "the fact, publicly or not, of exercising serious abuse (…) or of committing an act of cruelty towards a domestic or tamed animal, or held in captivity". But this law applicable to bullfighting remains unclear because of its cultural factor. "Except in the case provided for by article 521-1, the fact, without necessity, publicly or not, to deliberately exercise ill-treatment towards a domestic or tamed animal or held in captivity is punished by the fine provided for the contraventions of the 4th class. (…) The provisions of this article are not applicable to bull races when an uninterrupted local tradition can be invoked ", adds article R654-1 of the Penal Code. In 2011, bullfighting was included in the inventory of intangible cultural heritage of France. Several associations denounced this announcement and the repeal of this registration was ratified by the Administrative Court of Appeal of Paris on June 1, 2015.