Viana Do Castelo Municipality - Bullfighting Abolishment

Bullfighting Abolishment

In 2009, Viana do Castelo became the first Portuguese municipality to abolish bullfighting based on animal cruelty grounds. On 19 August 2012, the town of Areosa, a part of Viana do Castelo, was forced by court to host a bullfighting event, despite the municipal council's attempts to prevent it. Defensor Moura, mayor at the time the motion to ban bullfighting was approved, criticized the court as having made a “scandalous decision”.