The Senate examined yesterday, in committee, the bill aimed at banning bullfighting and cockfighting in the presence of minors under 16 years of age. The latter was tabled on March 27 by senators Samantha Cazebonne (Renaissance) and Arnaud Bazin (LR). The fight against bullfighting and associated spectacles has been raging for more than twenty years, but in vain.
As recently as 2022, LFI deputy Aymeric Caron (now related to the New Popular Front) went to the front and tabled a bill aimed at abolishing bullfighting. He finally withdrew his text.
After a first examination this Wednesday, the Senate gave its first red light, indicates AFP, according to various parliamentary sources. To justify the rejection, Horizons rapporteur Louis Vogel notably highlighted the “disproportionate criminal sanctions” contained in the text, which could go up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros.
“The intervention of the legislator in local traditions recognized as legitimate cannot be done without consultation with the communities, which already regulate shows and the operation of bullfighting schools,” the senator further told AFP.
“This is not a debate for or against bullfighting but a legal discussion,” but “we should only intervene in the family circle with a trembling hand,” he added.
To defend this new bill, the senators emphasize the consequences of these representations on the psychology of the child.
“A group of French psychiatrists and psychologists thus warn against the trauma that can be generated by witnessing violent scenes to the applause of trusted adults, to whom it will be difficult to admit sadness or sadness. anxiety caused (…),” said Samantha Cazebonne in a press release published last October.
Belgium
