Evening broadcasts of bullfights are about to return to Spanish state television after a six-year ban, sparking warnings of legal action from animal rights activists.



Live broadcasts of the blood sport were banned from state television by Spain's previous socialist government, which said they were costly and clashed with children's viewing times.

Bullfights were banned altogether this year in the Catalonian region, in a victory for animal rights activists.

But the current conservative government has waved the fights back onto the public stage, removing bullfights from the category of "violence against animals" and calling for them to be recognised as an important cultural heritage.

Bullfighting fans held up signs in the stands that read "Yes to bulls on TVE and to youth at bullfights" and "Thank you TVE. Yes to bullfighting".

The bullfighters are forgoing their payments to enable the broadcasts in Spain's difficult economic climate.

Animal rights political group PACMA vowed to challenge the renewed broadcasts.

It says bullfights are a spectacle in which spectators see the agony and death of a bleeding animal, real animal abuse and should not be aired in children's viewing time.

The group said its lawyers would complain to the state secretary for telecommunications, alleging that RTVE is breaching a self-regulatory code on television content for children.

The fights will be televised at 6:00pm local time.

Bullfighting has been on the decline for years in Spain, with a 2010 survey in leading daily El Pais showing 60 per cent of respondents opposed the practice.

ABC/AFP

