74% of Spaniards Oppose Tomorrow’s Cruel Toro de la Vega Bull Fiesta, Thousands Protest in Madrid

Three quarters of Spanish citizens aged 16-65yrs (74 per cent) oppose the Toro de la Vega bull fiesta, an Ipsos MORI online opinion poll commissioned by Humane Society International shows.

The event, which is scheduled to take place in the Spanish town of Tordesillas on 15th September 2015, will see a bull chased out of the town to a surrounding meadow where he will be taunted and goaded by groups of men on foot and horseback wielding long spears. The bull will eventually be stabbed to death and his killer rewarded for his deed.

Dr. Joanna Swabe, HSI/Europe’s executive director said: “The Toro de la Vega is a cruel spectacle that causes stress and suffering to a bull for nothing more than entertainment. This poll shows the strength of feeling held by Spanish citizens who oppose this fiesta, and the level of opposition to the use of public funds to support bull fiestas. We call on Spanish politicians to listen to the views of their citizens and put an immediate halt to all fiestas that involve animal cruelty.”

The Toro de la Vega is one brutal example of the thousands of fiestas taking place in Spain every year which see suffering and distress inflicted on bulls. Many of these fiestas are partly or wholly funded by public subsidies, but as this poll clearly shows, seven in 10 (71 per cent) of Spanish citizens do not think public funds should be used to support bull fiestas.

The polling showed:

– 74 per cent oppose the Toro de la Vega bull fiesta taking place, of those 60 per cent strongly oppose it

– Only 8 per cent support the Toro de la Vega bull fiesta

– 71 per cent believe that public funds should not be used to support bull fiestas

– Only 13 per cent believe public funding should be used to support bull fiestas.

On behalf of Humane Society International, Ipsos MORI carried out an online survey among a quota sample of 1,004 adults (aged 16 – 65) across Spain. Data were weighted to the known offline population profile.  Interviews were carried out between 26 and 30 September 2014.