Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Spain to demand an end to bullfighting.

The demonstration comes amid growing support for animal rights which has seen calls for the traditional sport to be banned.

Protesters holding banners declaring “Bullfighting, a national shame” and “Bullfighting, the school of cruelty” marched through the streets of Madrid on Saturday.

Animal rights political party Pacma said the rally was the biggest anti-bullfighting protest to date.

One demonstrator Mari Paz Rojo, a 42-year-old administrative assistant, told Reuters: “It makes me sad that some people want to have fun at the expense of another living being.

“There are other ways to pass the time.

“We don’t want Spaniards to be identified with bullfighting, this is not our national fiesta.”

The backlash against bullfighting, a centuries-old tradition in Spain, is partly due to the country’s economic crisis which has seen a decline in the number of people attending corridas, the spectacle of a matador baiting and fighting with a bull using a red cape and sword.

Catalonia votes to ban all forms of bullfighting in nationalist move Show all 3 1 /3 Catalonia votes to ban all forms of bullfighting in nationalist move Catalonia votes to ban all forms of bullfighting in nationalist move Matador El Juli in Barcelona's Monumental bullring AP Catalonia votes to ban all forms of bullfighting in nationalist move Bullfighting supporters' banner reads 'Freedom... Bulls: Yes! Prohibition: No!' EPA Catalonia votes to ban all forms of bullfighting in nationalist move Animal rights activists celebrate in Madrid AFP/ GETTY IMAGES

Recent surveys also show a growing public distaste for the sport. An Ipsos Moris poll from January this year, on behalf of animal welfare group World Animal Protection, found only 19 per cent of adults in Spain supported bullfighting while 58 per cent opposed it.

But aficionados claim bullfighting is an ancient art rooted in the history of Spain and fans have organised their own marches in support of the tradition.

The issue has become a political hot potato, with Pacma gaining increasing support in recent general elections and the Catalonia region of Spain banning bullfighting completely in 2011.

However, Spain’s centre-right government in 2013 declared bullfighting a cultural asset enabling it to draw on public funds.

A move then reversed for the capital by the mayor of Madrid when he took over the city council last year withdrawing subsidies for bullfighting schools.

In July this year, a bullfighter was gored to death during a festival in eastern Spain.

Victor Barrio, 29, became the first bullfighter to be killed in the ring for 30 years.