Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting – the first region of mainland Spain to do so.
The vote followed a petition signed by 180,000 people who say the practice is barbaric and outdated. The ban takes effect in January 2012.
The BBC reported that bullfight supporters insist that the corrida, as it is known, is an important tradition to preserve.
They also fear the vote could be the first of many in the country.
Barcelona’s main bullring is one of the oldest in Spain, but support for the bullfight has waned.
Activists argue bullfighting is cruel and unacceptable and say most spectators in Catalonia these days are tourists.
