Buying circus tickets for the children or grandchildren this winter? Spain’s ban on wild animals doesn’t mean every show is animal-free. Horses, llamas and camels can still appear, and a disputed Christmas circus in Valencia has raised questions about whether they should.

Does Spain’s circus ban cover every animal?

Spain’s national animal welfare law, passed in March 2023, prohibits wild species in circus performances, and circus owners were given a transition period that ended in March 2024. Using wild species in circus shows is classed as a very serious infringement, carrying fines of between €50,001 and €200,000.

Domestic species are not covered by that blanket prohibition, although regional and municipal restrictions may go further. Welfare obligations still apply though: the national law also prohibits animal performances that cause anguish, pain or suffering.

Valencia’s Christmas circus brought animals back

Valencia authorised animals at its Circ de Nadal, or Christmas circus, in December 2025 after changes to regional legislation. Animal welfare charity FAADA said this marked the return of animals to an authorised circus show after around a decade without them in the Valencian Community. The organisation listed equids, cattle, llamas, camels and birds among the animals participating. Permission did not extend to wild species such as pythons, boas or crocodiles.

Prominent animal protection and advocacy organisations FAADA, ANDA and AnimaNaturalis criticised the decision, arguing that circus entertainment should rely entirely on human performers. They also highlighted opposition from the Valencian circus professionals’ association, APCCV, which considered the authorisation a backward step for the sector.

A limping camel prompted a formal complaint

The controversy extended beyond the question of which species could legally perform. In January, Qué! reported that a video shared by activists had exceeded 500,000 views. The activists alleged that animals were pushed towards the performance area and that handlers used whips. They also relayed a spectator’s account of a camel struggling to walk. The newspaper reported that the circus’s programme allowed for changes for organisational or animal welfare reasons. That general notice preceded the subsequent formal complaint.

On April 8, AnimaNaturalis, AAP Primadomus, ANDA and FAADA, announced a joint complaint to Valencia City Council over alleged mistreatment of the camel.

They said recordings from December 2025 and January 2026 showed the animal continuing to perform despite a visible limp. The organisations requested protective measures and the opening of sanction proceedings. Their allegations should not be confused with a finding by the authorities that an offence occurred.

Should domestic animals still perform?

For the charities, the concern is also the life behind the ring. They argue that transport, confinement and training can compromise animals’ welfare even when the species is legally permitted.

The Valencia dispute leaves families with two separate questions: whether an animal can legally appear, and whether they even want to support a show that uses animals.

Spain’s wild-animal ban does not guarantee an animal-free show, and permission to use domestic animals does not remove the obligation to protect their welfare.

A €5.50 full English breakfast might not sound like the sort of thing that would ruin anyone’s holiday, but one Benidorm customer thought it was expensive enough to leave a one-star review. His complaint has since turned into a very public row after the owner of The Corner Bar responded online, defended what was on the plate and told him, rather bluntly, to “have a day off”.

The breakfast in question costs €5.50 and includes a fairly substantial list of traditional fry-up favourites. The customer, Peter Jones, nevertheless warned others about the price, saying he believed a full English could be found elsewhere in Benidorm for €4.50 or less.

Customer takes issue with €5.50 breakfast

Jones wrote in his review that people should be careful about the OAP discounts, particularly at breakfast, pointing to the €5.50 price and claiming that a full English could be found elsewhere for €4.50 (£3.86) or less. That €4.50 figure was Jones’s own comparison rather than a price established by The Corner Bar, so it is not evidence that an identical breakfast is generally available elsewhere for that amount.

The review caught the attention of Ashley, who runs the British-owned bar with her family. Rather than quietly accepting the criticism, she shared the complaint on Facebook and questioned whether the price alone justified a one-star rating.

She said customers were perfectly entitled not to like the food, service or even the people running the business, but objected to the suggestion that customers needed to be careful about the bar’s prices. The response quickly attracted hundreds of comments, turning one unhappy breakfast review into a much bigger discussion among people familiar with the bar.

What does €5.50 actually get you?

Ashley used the opportunity to spell out exactly what customers receive for the €5.50. The Corner Bar’s No4 breakfast contains one portion of English bacon, one Irish sausage, black pudding, a fried egg, toast made with Roberts bread, Heinz beans, fresh mushrooms and tinned tomatoes. It is also cooked fresh to order, either by Ashley herself or by two British cooks who, according to her, have been working at The Corner Bar for years. Her message to Jones was unmistakable: “Have a day off, Peter!”

The argument is particularly interesting in a resort where British-style breakfasts are hardly difficult to find. Benidorm has long had a market for inexpensive British food, from everything from traditional Sunday lunches to enormous breakfast challenges.

Customers rush to defend the bar

Once Ashley’s response appeared online, customers began coming to the bar’s defence. Several people who had eaten the €5.50 breakfast defended the price, with one customer saying the No4 offered good value. Another was less diplomatic, telling Jones that if he wanted to pay €4.50 he could do so, but suggesting that the cheaper breakfast would not be as good. Someone else simply pointed out that the difference between the two prices was only €1.

Ashley later thanked customers for backing the business, admitting that reviews can be difficult to read after a long day when you are running a small family business. She explained that The Corner Bar is a family business with five working members of staff alongside the owners and said they do their best to keep everything going.

The reaction also gives some context to the single one-star review. The Corner Bar has 1,170 Google reviews with an average rating of 4.5 out of five, while its TripAdvisor rating stands at 4.2 from 585 reviews. Michelle Baker, who has lived in Benidorm for more than 40 years, shared the story on her Benidormforever Facebook page and said: “LOVE that Ashley from The Corner Bar Benidorm called this chap out… there’s just no pleasing some people!”

Benidorm’s breakfast price debate

There is clearly no shortage of competition for anyone looking for a fry-up in Benidorm. EWN has previously reported on on Uncle Ron’s €9 Belly Buster breakfast challenge, which comes with four eggs, four sausages, four rashers of bacon, hash browns, toast, fried bread, beans, mushrooms and tomatoes.

That is obviously a very different proposition from The Corner Bar’s No4, but it shows just how varied the breakfast market can be in the resort. In this case, however, the argument was never really about whether €5.50 is the cheapest breakfast in Benidorm.

It came down to whether a customer considered the price enough of a problem to give a family-run bar one star, and whether the owner was prepared to let that criticism pass without answering back. Judging by the hundreds of people who joined the conversation, Ashley was certainly not the only person with an opinion.

If you have ever worked in Spain while living elsewhere in Europe, or crossed a border for work and assumed your unemployment contributions would follow you if the job disappeared, the rules around who actually pays your unemployment benefit are about to change.

A new EU agreement means that, in certain cross-border cases, the country where you worked and paid into the social security system for at least 22 uninterrupted weeks will become responsible for your unemployment benefit, rather than automatically leaving that bill with the country where you live.  That could be particularly relevant to people whose working lives do not fit neatly inside one country, including workers who live in one EU state and work in another.

Spain could become responsible for unemployment payments

The change was formally approved by the Council of the European Union on September 28, after almost a decade of negotiations over how social security should work when workers move between countries.  Under the new rules, a person who has been employed, self-employed or covered by social insurance in an EU country other than their country of residence for an uninterrupted 22 weeks will generally receive unemployment benefits from the country where they last worked.

There is an important condition, however: the worker must still satisfy the national eligibility rules of the country responsible for paying the benefit. The EU has not created a single European unemployment payment, and Spain is not being told to give every foreign worker a Spanish benefit after five months of work. 

For someone working in Spain but living in another EU country, that distinction could make a significant difference if they lose their job. The reform is based on the principle that social protection should follow a person’s real connection to the labour market. If someone has spent a substantial period working and paying contributions in Spain, the new system makes Spain responsible for the unemployment benefit in the circumstances covered by the rules.

What happens if you live in Spain?

The situation is more complicated for people who actually live in Spain, because the new 22-week rule is specifically aimed at cross-border situations where the country of work and country of residence are different. EU social security rules already require institutions to take account of previous periods of insurance or employment in other European countries when determining entitlement to benefits. The reform does not remove Spain’s own unemployment rules or turn contributions from another country into an automatic Spanish payment. 

It also does not mean nationality determines who gets paid. The EU rules cover EU citizens and, under certain conditions, legally resident nationals of non-EU countries who have moved between EU countries. They also apply across the European Economic Area and Switzerland, with separate arrangements governing some UK cases.  That means the important questions are generally where you live, where you worked, how long you were covered there and whether you meet the national requirements, rather than simply whether you are Spanish or a foreign national.

Unemployment benefit can also follow you abroad

There is another change that could affect people living in Spain who lose their jobs and want to look for work elsewhere in Europe. Under the revised rules, people receiving unemployment benefit will be able to take that benefit with them while looking for work in another EU country for six months. The current system generally allows three months, although an extension to six months can currently be granted in certain circumstances. 

The new system makes six months the minimum period for this export of unemployment benefits, with the country responsible for the payment able to extend it further, potentially until the person’s entitlement runs out.  For someone in Spain who loses their job but sees better opportunities in France, Germany or another EU country, that gives them more time to search without immediately losing their unemployment support.

The rules are changing across the EU

Unemployment is only one part of the reform. The new legislation also covers long-term care benefits, family benefits, access to certain social benefits and the rules applying to posted workers and people who work in several EU countries. It is designed to make it clearer which national system applies when someone’s employment crosses borders. 

There is also a stronger focus on preventing abuse, including better cooperation and information-sharing between national authorities. The reform is not yet something workers can simply use from today. The regulation must first be published in the Official Journal of the European Union before it enters into force. 

For workers in Spain, the headline figure to remember is therefore 22 weeks, but not as a new shortcut to Spanish unemployment benefit. It is the threshold that changes which country can become responsible for unemployment payments when someone’s job and home are in different EU countries, provided the other eligibility requirements are met.