The Cataluña parliament has voted in favour of banning bullfighting in the region, the forst mainland region in Spain to do so. The Canary Islands banned bullfighting in 1991.
The main parties in Cataluña took the unusual decision to let members vote according to their conscience rather than having to tow the party line and 68 voted in favour of the ban, 55 against and 9 abstained.
The ban takes effect from 2012. The main bullring in Barcelona is one of the oldest in Spain and is the only functional one in Cataluña. However, the popularity of bullfighting in Barcelona has been on the wane for many years and opponents of bullfighting argue that most of the spectators are tourists.