Why did Catalonia ban bullfighting in 2010 and what did Spain’s Constitutional Court decide in 2016?

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Julian Lopez El Juli, dressed in a blue and gold bullfighter costume, faces a charging bull while holding a pink and yellow cape in a sandy bullring in Barcelona. — bullfighting Spanish matador El Juli engaging a bull, June 6, 2010, Barcelona.

In July 2010, the autonomous community of Catalonia became the first mainland Spanish region to ban bullfighting. This decision was driven by a growing intolerance of the practice and a significant disconnect from the tradition of the spectacle among a large portion of the population, despite the region's long history with the sport.1

In October 2016, the Constitutional Court of Spain overturned the ban. The court ruled that while Catalonia possessed the authority to regulate bullfighting and implement specific measures regarding the events, it did not have the legal power to impose an outright ban on the practice. Despite this ruling, Catalonian politicians expressed their commitment to keeping bullfighting out of their community.1