Mexico’s Supreme Court Overturns Ban on Cockfights and Bullfights in Tepic

Tepic, Mexico — Mexico’s Supreme Court has overturned a municipal ban on cockfights, bullfights, and other animal spectacles in Tepic, the capital of Nayarit state, ruling that the local prohibition conflicted with state law.

The court’s full bench voted 6-3 on Tuesday to invalidate Article 19 of Tepic’s Animal Welfare Regulation, which had prohibited the use of animals in magic acts, bullfighting, cockfighting, and other spectacles involving cruelty, suffering, or disrespectful treatment since May 2022.

The court determined that the absolute ban on spectacles like cockfights conflicted with Nayarit state legislation, which permits them under certain regulations, thereby violating the principle of hierarchical subordination.

Justice Yasmín Esquivel Mossa authored the ruling, which declared the municipal provisions unconstitutional through a general declaration of unconstitutionality.

Justice Lenia Batres Guadarrama, who voted against the ruling, argued that the decision fails to respect constitutional supremacy, which she said categorically prohibits animal mistreatment. “The Constitution establishes an absolute prohibition of animal mistreatment, without conditioning it on regulatory laws,” Batres stated. She added that the prohibition should include entrenched traditions like cockfights because “it implies the death of the roosters for human entertainment.”

The Mexican Commission for Cockfighting Promotion, represented by Efraín Rábago Echegoyen, challenged the regulation on June 24, 2022. Although a federal judge initially denied an injunction, the case reached a collegiate tribunal through an appeal and was referred to the Supreme Court due to its legal significance.

The court’s Second Chamber unanimously ruled the provision unconstitutional on August 14, 2024. In September 2024, the Supreme Court ordered Tepic’s city council to rectify the regulation’s defects within 90 days, a deadline that expired on December 3.

The final vote was delayed last week due to the absence of Justice Loretta Ortiz Ahlf, who joined the majority on Tuesday. Justices Hugo Aguilar Ortiz and Irving Espinosa Betanzo also voted against the ruling.