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CP20005401 — File - In this July 14, 2011 file photo, Spanish bullfighter Julian Lopez \'El Juli\' aims his sword to kill a bull during a bullfight in Pamplona, Spain. Bullfights return live to Spanish state TV Wednesday Sept. 5, 2012, six years after the fights were banned from the widely watched public channel with the broadcast featuring one of Spain\'s most storied bullfighters and giving a boost to a tradition hit hard by declining popularity and a dire economic crisis. Julian Lopez, known by his nickname “El Juli,” will kill hulking half-ton bulls raised by a renowned breeder. He and other fighters are waiving payments demanded in better economic times for the right to broadcast their battles, a decision that helped Spain\'s new austerity-minded conservative government in its drive to get the fights back on national TV and promote bullfighting as important cultural heritage. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza, File)

Bullfights back live on Spain public TV after 6-year ban lifted by conservative government

September 04 2012 08:24 PM

MADRID – Spain’s state TV will start airing live bullfights again after the new conservative government lifted a six-year ban on the tradition that has been hard hit by declining popularity and the economic crisis.

The first fight will be broadcast on the widely watched RTVE Wednesday evening from the northern city of Valladolid.

It’s a big victory for pro-bullfighting forces who saw fights prohibited this year in the northeastern region of Catalonia. And it’s a defeat for animal rights activists who denounce bullfighting as barbaric.

The live transmissions were halted in 2006 by Spain’s previous Socialist administration, which said they were costly and coincided with youth TV viewing hours.

The Socialists lost power last year and new Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is a bullfighting fan.

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