Declare Tavira an Anti-Bullfighting City

campanhas@animal.org.pt, presidente@cm-tavira.pt, ecordeiro@cm-tavira.pt, fviegas@cm-tavira.pt, cbaracho@cm-tavira.pt, lnunes@cm-tavira.pt, asimoes@cm-tavira.pt, jguerreiro@cm-tavira.pt, fbeato@cm-tavira.pt, camara@cm-tavira.pt, gci@cm-tavira.pt

President of the Municipality of Tavira
Mr. José Macário Correia, Presidente da Câmara Municipal de Tavira
Câmara Municipal de Tavira
Praça da República
8800-951 Tavira, PORTUGAL


Dear Honorable Officials of Tavira:
 
I write to urge you and the Municipality of Tavira to free your beautiful city from bullfighting. Tavira does not have a permanent bullring and there is no bullfighting tradition in Tavira or anywhere in the Algarve. On the contrary, the fact that a bullfight takes place in Tavira every year only hurts your city¹s good name and reputation. It is even more harmful for the animals tortured in these bullfights.

Every summer in the city of Tavira in the Algarve, a bullfight is staged in a mobile bullring - mostly for foreign tourists, who are deceitfully attracted by promoters claiming bullfights are ³bloodless² expressions of local culture. In fact, bullfights are shockingly bloody and violent, and certainly not part of the culture of the Algarve. Every time a bullfight occurs, at least six bulls are viciously tortured, just to profit from animal cruelty.

To date, 65 Spanish towns and three French towns have declared themselves anti-bullfighting. In Portugal, Viana do Castelo has already officially taken that step. The Mayors of Braga and Cascais announced that they will no longer authorise bullfighting spectacles in their cities as well.
 
I call upon you to proclaim Tavira an anti-bullfighting city, through the implementation of a policy of non-authorisation of bullfighting spectacles in your city -- at least as far as municipal licenses and authorisations are required for these to take place. Such a step would hugely benefit Tavira and make your constituents happy with that measure, which would certainly have positive effects in the next elections. I¹m also certain that tourism in Tavira would grow.

I look forward to a response from you and I thank you in advance for your attention.

Yours sincerely,