Mexico City considers ban on killing bulls at fights

The mayor of Mexico City, home to the world's largest bullring, on Thursday proposed a ban on bullfights where the animals are killed or wounded.

Clara Brugada said business owners and promoters had agreed to move toward "violence-free" bullfighting events.

The Mexican capital cannot allow "cruelty as a spectacle, much less the long pain and death of an animal for entertainment," she said.

The proposed ban, which is expected to be debated by the city's legislature, would align with a constitutional reform approved in December that prohibited animal abuse, Brugada said.

Mexico City is a bastion of bullfighting, and at its heart sits the Plaza de Toros, which has a capacity of more than 40,000 people.

But the capital is also considered a progressive stronghold, and there have been years of legal battles between bullfighting promoters and animal rights activists seeking a ban.

So far, only a few of Mexico's 32 states have outlawed the practice, which was brought by the Spanish conquistadors centuries ago.