The Changing Place of Animals in Post-Franco Spain with particular reference to Bullfighting, Popular Festivities, and Pet-keeping. Vibeke Hansen A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology University of Essex October 2015 Abstract This is a thesis about the changing place of animals in post-Franco Spain, with particular reference to bullfighting, popular festivities, and pet-keeping. The thesis argues that since the ‘transition’ to democracy (1975-1982), which made Spain one of the most liberal social-democratic states in Europe, there have been several notable developments in human-animal relations. In some important respects, Spain has begun to shed its unenviable reputation for cruelty towards animals. Three important changes have occurred. First, bullfighting (corridas) has been banned in the Canary Islands (1991) and in Catalonia (2010). In addition, numerous municipalities have declared themselves against it. Second, although animals are still widely ‘abused’ and killed (often illegally) in local festivities, many have gradually ceased to use live animals, substituting either dead ones or effigies, and those that continue to use animals are subject to increasing legal restrictions. Third, one of the most conspicuous changes has been the growth in popularity of urban pet-keeping, together with the huge expansion of the market for foods, accessories and services - from healthy diets to cemeteries. The thesis shows that the character of these changing human-animal relations, and the resistance they encounter, can only be properly understood within the context of Spain’s historical trajectory since the 1970s. Aside from the transition to democracy, among the more important influences are the continual urbanising/modernising processes; entry into the EU and the move towards ‘Europeanism’; the rule of democratic law (after forty years of Francoism); the rise of an effective animal movement; the public rejection of political and personal violence; ongoing and vigorous debates about local, regional and national ‘identities’, and the popular desire to see Spain as ‘normal’ (civilised) rather than ‘different’ (primitive). CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements List of Plates List of Abbreviations Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 How did I become interested in the question of changing human-animal relations in Spain?.................................................................................................. 1 Why is it an important topic to study? ................................................................... 3 My research questions ......................................................................................... 10 Terminology ........................................................................................................ 11 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 15 1 The literature review ..................................................................................... 17 The argument ....................................................................................................... 17 The literature review ............................................................................................ 19 Modernisation, urbanisation, law, the animal movement and ‘practical ethics’................................................................................................... 40 The animal movement as a new social movement (NSM) .................................. 50 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 57 2 Research methods .......................................................................................... 59 The research questions ......................................................................................... 59 The structure ........................................................................................................ 60 How I approached the research............................................................................ 61 Why these sources and not others, and how did I evaluate their contents ........... 63 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 79 3 Spain, Europe, and modernisation ............................................................... 80 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 80 Franco’s regime, 1939-1975 ................................................................................ 81 ‘Modernisation and the twilight of Francoism’ ................................................... 83 The transition to democracy, 1975-1982 ............................................................. 89 Spain on the road to ‘modernity’, 1982-1992 ...................................................... 92 1992: the ‘coming of age’ .................................................................................... 96 The Conservative period, 1996-2004 .................................................................. 97 The ‘Second Transition’, 2004-2008 (and beyond) ............................................. 99 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 108 4 Practical ethics and changing attitudes and behaviour towards animals ............................................................................................... 111 Introduction........................................................................................................ 111 The background ................................................................................................. 113 What is practical ethics? .................................................................................... 115 The introduction of practical ethics into Spain .................................................. 118 The influence of practical ethics on the perspectives of the animal movement 129 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 132 5 The law and animal protection ................................................................... 135 Introduction........................................................................................................ 135 The Spanish political and legal systems ............................................................ 137 The influence of EU membership on Spanish legislation ................................. 140 Regional and national laws for the protection of animals ................................. 143 The new 1995 Penal Code ................................................................................. 153 The 2003 reform of the 1995 Penal Code: the reclassification of animal abuse ...................................................................................................... 157 The 2010 reform of the 1995 Penal Code .......................................................... 165 The interdependence of Spanish law and a changing society ............................ 176 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 181 6 Bullfighting: art, culture and identity – the debates around art/culture versus barbarism/primitivism ..................................................... 183 Introduction........................................................................................................ 183 The violent spectacle and the civilising process ................................................ 185 Art, culture and identity ..................................................................................... 187 The bullfight (and the bull) in Spain.................................................................. 189 Claims for and against bullfighting as art/culture.............................................. 195 Anti-bullfighting campaigns .............................................................................. 207 Catalonia votes to ban bullfighting .................................................................... 215 Reactions to the Barcelona Declaration and the Ban: culture being transformed? ................................................................................ 220 The Barcelona Declaration, the Catalan ban, and the issue of Catalan independence ........................................................................................ 226 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 232 7 The place of animals in popular festivities ................................................ 234 Introduction........................................................................................................ 234 An historical overview ....................................................................................... 237 Some (unreliable) figures .................................................................................. 244 The use of animals ............................................................................................. 246 Opposition to animal abuse in popular festivities.............................................. 253 ‘Mirrors and windows’: continuity, adaptation and ambivalence