策劃、編譯■魏世昌
7月28日，伊比利亞半島上的西班牙，面臨本世紀最大政治挑戰。
位居西北角的加泰隆尼亞自治區議會，以68比55票通過禁止鬥牛法案，
檯面上看似為鬥牛申張動物正義，但隱而未現的是波滔洶湧的獨立聲浪。
傳統習俗與政治板塊會如何移動？民意正在沸騰。
7月28日這天，西班牙加泰隆尼亞自治區的議員對鬥牛活動開鍘，以公權力限制了已有數百年歷史的血腥運動，這也是首度在西班牙本土出現的廢除鬥牛事件。
Lawmakers dealt the death blow to bullfighting in Catalonia on Wednesday, outlawing （1） the centuries-old blood sport for the first time in a mainland region of Spain.
A man looks through a locked gate at Barcelona’s monumental bullring before the first bullfight there after bullfights were banned in the Catalonia region August 1, 2010. REUTERS
加泰隆尼亞議會去年12月接受公民呼籲停止鬥牛的請願，因為構成虐待動物，議會旋即進行初步投票。因此這回投票結果以68票贊成、55票反對為意料中的結果。
The result of 68 in favor, 55 against the ban was expected, since the Catalonian parliament had cast preliminary votes in December accepting a citizens’ petition to stop bullfighting on the grounds that it constituted cruelty to animals.
在辯論中，議員列舉出西班牙觀賞鬥牛賽的人口逐年下滑，越來越少觀眾前往競技場，觀賞穿著沒有任何防護裝備的金黃「輕裝」、揮舞紅色披肩與劍、以近距離逗弄盛怒牛隻的鬥牛士。
In the debate, some lawmakers cited the declining popularity of bullfighting in Spain, where fewer people go each year to the arena to watch toreros in their gold "suit of lights" wield red capes and swords at close range against angry bulls.
加泰隆尼亞民主團結黨議員荷西．盧爾說：「隨著社會變化，有些傳統不能再墨守成規。我們不必禁止一切，但最不名譽的事情應該禁止。」
"There are some traditions that can’t remain frozen in time as society changes. We don’t have to ban everything, but the most degrading （2） things should be banned," said Josep Rull, member of parliament for the Catalonian nationalist party, or CiU.
最後9名議員棄權。動物權益人士極度關心鬥牛的遭遇，據理反對將鬥牛活動視為西班牙豐富多元歷史的一環。
Nine lawmakers abstained （3） from voting in the debate in which animal activists concerned about the suffering of the bull argued against those who revere what they see as a bastion of Spanish culture steeped in colorful history.
動物權益人士誓言將禁止鬥牛普及至全國各地。反鬥牛團體募集1萬8千名加泰隆尼亞人民的簽名連署，迫使議會就此事進行表決。
Animal rights activists have pledged （4） to spread the ban throughout the country. Anti-bullfighting groups gathered signatures from 180,000 Catalans, which forced parliament to vote on the matter.
動保團體「夠了！」成員安娜．慕拉說：「我們聽見社會要求重新改造傳統的強烈抗議。」
"They have heard the outcry of a society that is reinventing its traditions," said Anna Mula, of the group Prou! (Enough!).
按儀式慣例，鬥牛士與其助手使用披肩、長矛與標槍制服鬥牛後，接著以近距離用劍將牛殺死。西班牙加納利群島1991年通過鬥牛禁令，視其為非法活動。
Highly ritualized bullfighting, in which the torero and his entourage （5） use capes, lances and darts to subdue the bull and then kill it at close quarters with a sword, was made illegal in Spain’s Canary islands in 1991.
午後之死“DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON”對鬥牛士及其愛好者而言，鬥牛競技代表的是西班牙恐懼與勇氣的文化核心。這讓美國諾貝爾文學獎作家海明威深深著迷，成為了筆下描繪鬥牛競技的作品《午後之死》（譯註）。
For bullfighters and aficionados, the ring becomes a moving display of fear and courage which is central to Spanish culture and which caught the imagination of U.S. Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway who wrote "Death in the Afternoon" about bullfighting.
知名鬥牛士賽拉芬．馬林接受路透社訪問時說：「這不是一個殘酷的表演，完全相反。這是個創造藝術的演出：你能在這感受人與鬥牛間的戰鬥，這也會成為雙方失去生命的場域。」
"It’s not a cruel show. Completely the opposite. It’s a show that creates art: where you get feelings and a fight between a bull and person, where the person or the bull can lose their life," renowned bullfighter Serafin Marin told Reuters.
鬥牛禁令將於2012年1月1日起生效，加泰隆尼亞首府巴塞隆納的最後一間鬥牛場即將關閉，鬥牛場幾乎從該區消失殆盡。
Under the ban, which would come into effect in 2012, the last active bullring in Catalonia’s capital, Barcelona, would shut down, as would the remaining few elsewhere in the region.
一部分議員援引西班牙剛擺脫嚴重的經濟衰退為由，堅持維持鬥牛活動。
Some lawmakers cited Spain’s ongoing economic crisis -- the country is just emerging from a deep recession -- as a reason to keep bullfighting alive.
反對該法案、進行遊說的工業團體報告書表示，每年在法國與西班牙舉行的鬥牛門票收入達1億歐元（約新台幣41億元），禁止鬥牛將加劇加泰隆尼亞政府失業率的救濟支出。
A report by an industry group that lobbied against the ban said 100 million euros of tickets to bullfights are sold annually in France and Spain, and projected rising unemployment benefit payouts for Catalonia’s government when bullrings shut.
鬥牛產業包括製造生產華麗的鬥牛裝與專門繁殖鬥牛技術，各花費可達1萬歐元（約新台幣43萬元）。
The bullfighting industry includes manufacturing of the elaborate suits as well as specialized breeding of bulls, which can cost up to 10,000 euros apiece.
保守人民黨國會議員拉斐爾．盧娜辯論時表示：「在經濟危機的當下禁止鬥牛，實在太瘋狂了。」
"Banning bullfighting at a time of economic crisis is madness," said Rafael Luna, member of parliament for the conservative Popular Party, during the debate.
（路透REUTERS）
譯註：《午後之死》（Death in the Afternoon，1932）為海明威長篇的敘述性散文，對死亡、藝術與高貴之間關係的思考。對海明威而言，鬥牛是種悲愴的美，而非複雜的語言、儀式或戲劇性事件。
關鍵字詞 Key Words
1. outlaw
(v.) 宣佈……為不合法、禁止、限制
2. degrading
(a.) 降低品格的、丟臉的
3. abstain
(v.) 棄權
4. pledge
(v.) 保證、誓言
5. entourage
(n.) 隨行人員
文章來源: 台灣立報
