The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has recommended that Spain prevent children under 18 from participating in bullfights as bullfighters or spectators.
In their "Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Spain", which was undertaken on 22nd January in Geneva, the committee expresses worries about bullfighting's "harmful effects" on children.
"In order to prevent the harmful effects of bullfighting on children, the Committee recommends that the State party prohibit the participation of children under 18 years of age as bullfighters and as spectators in bullfighting events," they write.
Committee member Gehad Madi, noted in a press conference that the body "is not against bullfighting in general in Spain, since it is a historical and cultural event, but using children as bullfighters is a violent exercise", he said, adding that "it's also a violent exercise if children are spectators to a bullfight".
It was Madi who asked the Spanish delegation on 22nd January what measures they take to prevent children and teenagers from taking part in bullfights, the Franz Weber Foundation has said today. The foundation works in preserving nature, architectural heritage and animals' rights from its headquarters in Switzerland.
According to the foundation, the Spanish government replied that it is an activity regulated at a state level by the Reglamento de espectáculos (taurinos), with some leeway given to individual autonomous communitities. For example, they are banned outright in Catalonia and the Canary Islands. In any case, events like those described by Madi are not currently punishable by law.
As for bullfighting schools, he concluded, he asked for a minimum age of 14 for certain activities, to be carried out under supervision.