Protecting Rescued Spanish Fighting Bulls and Cows in the Wake of Colombia's Bullfighting Ban

In July 2027, Colombia's bullfighting ban will take full effect. Yet amid the celebrations and political debate, one critical question has been largely ignored: what happens to the bulls and cows themselves?

Thousands of Spanish fighting bulls and cows now face an uncertain future, with many already being sold abroad, sent to slaughter, or discarded as the industry contracts. Since 2023, Namigni Animal Sanctuary has been sounding the alarm about this overlooked crisis while building one of the only practical responses anywhere in the world. Today, we provide lifelong sanctuary to rescued fighting bulls and cows, including orphaned calves who would otherwise have had little chance of survival. Caring for these animals is extraordinarily challenging due to their size, strength, and natural aggressiveness, requiring specialized feeding, infrastructure, and safety measures. Yet we believe that no animal should become a casualty of social change simply because society failed to plan for its future. Beyond rescue, we are fostering constructive dialogue with bullfighting stakeholders in Colombia and Spain to explore sustainable alternatives that can protect these animals while creating new opportunities for the people historically connected to them, including conservation, ecotourism, and preservation initiatives.

This work is largely self-funded and operates with minimal overhead, ensuring that support goes directly toward rescuing animals, providing lifelong care, expanding protection capacity, and laying the foundations for a future in which fighting bulls and cows are no longer abandoned when the systems that created them disappear. The challenge is immense, but with meaningful support, it is still possible to ensure that these animals are remembered not as victims of a transition, but as beneficiaries of one. Please click here if you'd like to support our work to build a safe world for bullfighting bulls and cows.

Namigni Animal Sanctuary is, today, the world's only sanctuary that rescues and protects bullfighting bulls and cows