Bull fighting in Bogota is back after ban was lifted by constitutional court in Colombia
Bullfighting in Bogota is back after ban was lifted by constitutional court in Colombia Reuters

Bullfighting is back in Bogota after a ban on the bloody sport was lifted by a national court in Colombia.

The capital city of the south American country will again host bullfighting in a move that has caused dismay among animal rights activists.

Bullfighting was banned in Bogota by the city's mayor in 2012 following a campaign that included topless women taking to the streets daubed in red paint.

But banning the sport was ruled to be a violation of people's "right to artistic expression" in a country that is passionate about bullfighting.

Bogota now has six months to bring the spectacle back to arenas such as La Santamaria, which was to be turned over to educational projects in lieu of any bullfights.

Condemning the decision by Colombia's constitutional court, Shely Bryan, campaigns director at Humane Society International, said: "At the end of the day, stabbing an animal for entertainment is wrong. I think that where cruelty starts, then culture ends.

"Animals are sentient beings and feel pain, so killing them for entertainment is wrong."