03 June 2008 - Green MEPs in the European Parliament will hold an open seminar to call for an end to European bullfighting in Brussels tomorrow (4 June), coinciding with a two-day pro-bullfighting conference also taking place in the Parliament.

UK MEP Dr Caroline Lucas is to chair the event beginning at 4.30pm and will be joined in the panel debate by a councillor from Barcelona City Council, an ecologist and a Spanish veterinarian, as well as fellow MEPs, who will aim to challenge a number of false perceptions on bullfighting.

They will seek to refute the common assumptions that bulls do not endure suffering during fighting, that bullfighting is a widely popular and culturally valuable activity in Spain, and that it is somehow beneficial for the environment.

Furthermore, they will argue that ‘culture’ should not be put forward as an excuse for animal cruelty and will highlight the inordinate EU subsidies paid to breeders of fighting bulls.

Dr Lucas, Green MEP for the South East, commented: “The European Union is founded on core values to which all Member states should adhere – and animal protection is one of them. As such, there is no place in a 21st century Europe for blood sports which inflict unnecessary suffering on the animals involved.”

Event

Open seminar: ‘For a bullfighting free Europe’

Time: 4.30 p.m. Wednesday 4 June 2008

Location: Room ASP 1G2, European Parliament, Brussels

Photo Opportunity: Place Luxembourg – between 6.45pm and 8pm

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The open seminar on bullfighting in Europe has been organised by Green MEPs working with a range of European animal welfare organisations.

You can find more information on and images of bullfighting at the Spanish website, Stop Our Shame (SOS).