The matter has been put on hold until the next European elections, but it is among the pending issues and is of great concern to brave bull ranchers. The Community Parliament intends to approve the Animal Transport Regulation that could force the cattle to get off the truck that transports them to the plaza every certain number of kilometers of travel so that they can rest, eat and drink, which would undoubtedly affect the celebration. of bullfighting festivities.
This is the main concern of Antonio Bañuelos, re-elected a few days ago president of the Union of Fighting Bull Breeders (RUCTL), which now holds the title of ‘royal’, “which has nothing to do with whether we are monarchists or not” , he assures, “but rather a recognition that the Royal Family makes to an institution that has been in non-profit activities for one hundred years.”
The Union will be 120 in 2025, “and continues to be a selection club for a type of genetics that is cultural heritage,” he adds, “closely linked to the countryside, to the maintenance of the biosphere, to the fauna and flora that coexists with the bull. , and that otherwise it would be a depressed area or a field of flames.”
Bañuelos first acceded to the presidency a week before the pandemic was declared in 2020, but affirms that his mandate has been “exciting”, although he cannot avoid, at the same time, a sly smile slipping on his face. In these four years, many cattle have been sent to the slaughterhouse, the pasture has suffered a severe drought, the supply of bulls has been reduced by 20 percent for this season, and production expenses have increased by 40 percent since 2018. A Despite everything, he repeats at the head of the ranchers the four more years that the statutes allow him, “willing to continue learning.”
“Europe proposes that a truck with bulls that goes from Tarifa to Nimes, for example, stop every eight hours, unload the animals, rest, eat, drink, socialize, and continue on their way again”
And in that learning, Brussels continues to be a bone for the brave bull. With difficulties and the work of an office hired by the RUCTL in Brussels, it was achieved that the Community Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027 did not harm livestock farmers, but now another danger lurks on the horizon.
“We saved the CAP, which was not easy at all,” says Antonio Bañuelos; “some groups wanted the bullfighting cow, as it is called, not to be considered European, and that, furthermore, that Bravo ranchers not receive agricultural subsidies, but what is now on the table is the Animal Transport Regulation that aims to “To understand each other, a truck with bulls that goes from Tarifa to Nimes stops every eight hours, the animals get off, rest, eat, drink, socialize, and continue on their way again to a new rest.”
The work of the RUCTL now consists of presenting amendments and allegations in the company of representatives of other breeds, “so that they are considered animals that are difficult to handle – the word ‘bull’ cannot be pronounced in Brussels – and the situation is normalized. ”.
Bañuelos is confident that this regulation will not affect fighting bulls because it would materially prevent the transfer of cattle from the farms to the bullrings.
Ask. You have commented that your first mandate has been ‘exciting’…
Answer. Yes…, I took office a week before the pandemic, which brought desolation to all ranchers; then the drought came; the war in Ukraine, which divided us in the middle; the exorbitant increase in production costs, so that the breeding of a bull has gone from 4,500/5,000 euros to 6,000/7,000 euros… And, if that were not enough, the CAP.
P. But the worst of the pandemic is already over…
R. We are still suffering from the hangover of that disaster. Livestock farms did not disappear, but they became smaller, and many suckler cows, fields and pastures were eliminated until the warehouses were saturated as a matter of pure sustainability. There was no income, no season, no possibility of setting goals, no consumption. In 2019 there were between 4,000 and 5,000 bulls left over, and now they will be missing, and not in the first places, but in the others as the season progresses.
P. What seems clear is that the economy of the bull is more linked to hobby and romanticism than to money.
R. That statement is not new. If this were not the case, it would not have been possible to overcome the pandemic.
P. It seems that it is not easy to be a rancher today between the animalist current, the prevailing anti-bullfighting, the EU, the ambiguity of the political class, the Minister of Culture…
R. The current political profile has given us the least appropriate Minister of Culture, who has the obligation to protect and promote the bullfighting festival and it seems that his interest lies in protecting anti-bullfighting groups so that they ask the Congress of Deputies to repeal the law that regulates bullfighting as cultural heritage. Fortunately, the CCAA act in a different way and are dedicated to the present and future of the party. There have been contacts with all those where bulls are raised and we have found a positive attitude and more than words.
The president of the ranchers is very satisfied with the organization of bullfights and the broadcast of celebrations sponsored by some regional governments, and with the agreements signed with regional institutions related to the countryside and the promotion of the bullfighting breed.
“We have the least appropriate Minister of Culture, but in the Autonomous Communities we have found dialogue and something more than words”
He adds that this is one of the reasons why “last year there were more young people than ever in the bullrings”; He assures that he is not concerned about animalism, “because it is governed by its theories, pursues other commercial interests and has nothing to do with the essence of bullfighting,” and affirms that this current and anti-bullfighting do not prevent a large public from attending the events. plazas. “In 2022, 200 more celebrations were held than in 2019, which is still significant, and the fair of any city that does not offer bullfighting celebrations is sad, because the bulls provide life and economic activity,” he continues, “and proof of That is why a figure like Roca Rey is very interesting and attracts many young people.”
P. It seems that you have a very optimistic vision of the bullfighting festival.
R. I believe that Roca Rey is a reference for youth; a foreign boy who has become a global social phenomenon on the bull planet. And I tell you more: on July 26 of last year, he suffered an accident at the Santander fair, Cayetano came to his aid, the two ended up in the air, and the photo appeared in the New York Times…
P. But that is not a bullfighting image…
R. But from a bullfighter, which shows that there is interest. It is true that today less bullfighting information is consumed in general newspapers, but they have been replaced by social networks.
Antonio Bañuelos begins a new mandate at the head of the RUCTL. It has not been necessary to call an electoral assembly because only his candidacy has been presented and he has been automatically proclaimed president. One of the latest decisions of his team has been to change the organization’s logo, which now appears with the royal crown. And he seems happy and hopeful about the celebration of the organization’s 120th anniversary. “We have many dreams to fulfill,” he concludes.