Colombia moves to ban bullfighting

Colombian lawmakers voted to ban bullfighting from 2027, sending the bill to the President Gustavo Petro for signing. Animal rights groups say the sport does not represent culture, but rather torture.

Colombia moved a step closer to outlawing bullfighting on Tuesday when its lower house of Congress voted 93-2 to ban the sport from 2027.

The move comes after years of lobbying from animal rights groups in various Latin American countries as well as in Portugal and Spain, where the sport originated in its modern form.

Those calling for bans have argued that bullfighting is not a cultural tradition, but rather a relic of colonialism and a cruel form of torture.

The bill will now go to President Gustavo Petro's desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.

On the social media platform X, Petro praised lawmakers for making clear that "death is not a spectacle."