On the 2nd of April 2025, the Congress of Michoacán voted to ban bullfighting, becoming the sixth state in Mexico to prohibit this cruel spectacle. The bill, introduced by Congresswoman Giulianna Bugarini and championed by the animal protection group México Sin Toreo, was passed amidst growing calls for the country to move away from traditions rooted in animal cruelty.
Bullfighting bans are already in effect in Guerrero, Sinaloa, Sonora, Coahuila, and Quintana Roo, with Mexico City recently outlawing bullfights where bulls are not injured or killed (as the city of Quito in Ecuador did a few years back). The new law in Michoacán amends the Animal Rights, Welfare, and Protection Law, removing exceptions for bullfighting, running of the bulls, and novilladas (bullfights with young bulls). It strictly prohibits spectacles or events where entertainment is derived from bloodshed, physical suffering, or the death of animals, including all forms of bullfighting.
The move was widely welcomed by animal protection organisations and citizens who have long opposed the brutal practices associated with bullfighting. Humane World for Animals México, formerly known as Humane Society International/Mexico, expressed strong support for the decision. Claudia Edwards, programs director for the group, said, “We celebrate this ban as a triumph for compassion, demonstrating the need to protect animals from cruelty and promote more humane forms of entertainment. Following so closely after Mexico City’s bullfighting restriction, it highlights the growing awareness surrounding animal protection in Mexico and the rejection of cruelty to animals… By stepping away from this brutal tradition, Michoacán is advocating for a future that embraces cultural evolution and respects animal welfare”.
Public opinion in Mexico, possibly the country with the biggest bullfighting industry, has shifted in the last decade or so, with the majority of the population now opposing bullfighting and viewing it as part of a colonial past. According to Reforma Diario in 2019, 73% of the Mexican population considered bullfighting to be animal cruelty.
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