The possibility of legalizing “a sorte de varas” (lancing the bull) and returning to the Legislative Assembly has generated opposition from parties and associations in the region. An online petition with more than 1,000 signatures asks the Assembly not to vote to legalize this practice.
“Because we must move towards guaranteeing civilizational advances that take real animal welfare into account, the petitioners ask that this matter not receive the positive opinion of the various parties that make up the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Azores and that this barbaric act is not legalized again,” reads the petition.
At the IV World Forum of Bullfighting Culture in Angra do Heroísmo, the former president of the Tertúlia Tauromáquica Terceirense and member of the forum’s organizing committee José Parreira defended the legalization in the region of the sorte de varas, in which bulls are brutally punctured.
“We want to say here today that the issue has never been forgotten and that when the time comes, we will once again bother our representatives with what is an essential practice for us. By restoring this practice, we will begin to win the future again,” he said.
In his reaction, the regional secretary for Agriculture and Food, António Ventura, challenged the Tertúlia Tauromáquica Terceirense to once again probe the possibility of the raffle of sticks being discussed in parliament, claiming that the current architecture, with eight parties and no absolute majority, “could be an advantage.”
“It won’t be an easy task, we’ll have to close our ears and eyes to many attacks, but in the Azores the Azoreans rule and they rule through their regional parliament, the first organ of our sovereignty,” he said.
In 2009, the Azorean parliament had already considered legalizing stick drawing, but the initiative was rejected by 28 votes against and 26 in favor.

“Civilizational setback”
The Vegan Association of the Azores has launched a petition against the return of a practice it defines as “a form of cruelty and torture.”
“Legalizing this type of violence again is a huge step backwards in terms of civilization, even more so when trying to convey the image of the Azores as a destination for nature and animal welfare,” reads the petition, addressed to the president of the Regional Government and the president of the Legislative Assembly.
The petition states that the sorte de varas “consists of stinging the bull in a very violent way, causing serious lacerations and muscular and neurological damage, as well as having consequences for the horses that end up suffering physical damage, with horns that can cause eviscerations and other serious damage, putting their lives at risk.”

Secretary’s resignation
The Civic Movement for the Abolition of Bullfighting in the Azores (MCATA) called on society to oppose a new attempt to legalize this brutal practice in the region and called for the resignation of the regional secretary for agriculture.
“MCATA calls for the involvement of all people in actions to oppose successive attempts to legalize the drawing of sticks, a barbaric practice that has no place in a decent civilization and which constitutes a notorious attack on the physical integrity of animals and an attitude that indicates a legislative, political, moral and civilizational step backwards that will tarnish the image of the Azores at national and international level,” reads a statement.
The movement accused the regional secretary of incoherence for presenting himself “as a champion of animal welfare” while considering the current composition of the Legislative Assembly advantageous for the legalization of a “bloodthirsty practice.”
He also considered the statement by the head of the Agriculture portfolio, who defended, at the opening session of the forum, that bullfighting was “the best school of citizenship” to be “insulting to all fathers and mothers, teachers and other people involved in educational activities.”
“António Ventura is not fit to continue heading a regional secretariat, as he has demonstrated his ignorance and foolishness on more than one occasion,” he said.

PAN and BE are against legalizing this practice
BE and PAN MPs also spoke out against the legalization of raffles. Pedro Neves, from PAN, even argued that the regional secretary for Agriculture should resign, accusing him of being on the fringes of what society is demanding and receptive to the wishes of the bullfighting lobby.
“It’s alarming that a representative of the Azorean government minimizes the seriousness of the practice of raffles, which contradicts any claim to animal welfare, to which is added the deafening silence of the Animal Ombudsman regarding the idea that bullfighting promotes values such as dignity, responsibility and discipline – a fallacious argument that, in our view, ignores the suffering inflicted on animals. It’s time to move forward, not backwards,” he said, quoted in a statement.
The BE considered that the return of the drawing of lots would be “yet another civilizational setback at the hands of the right-wing coalition”, and called for society to mobilize against this intention.
“The raffle of sticks is an act of cruelty to animals that cannot be tolerated and could also have negative effects on the national and international image of the Azores, which aims to assert itself as a nature destination, which is not in line with holding shows that are based on the extreme suffering of an animal,” it said in a statement.

From a news story in Diário Insular, José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.