Horrifying video of a matador repeatedly stabbing a bull in the head is released by PETA to highlight the horrors of the brutal blood sport
- WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Bullfighter was filmed stabbing a bull in the back of the head in Bilbao, Spain
- Animal could be seen writhing in agony as it is knifed in the skull by a matador
- Animal rights group PETA launched petition calling for blood sport to be banned
- In a letter to Spain’s PM, PETA described how animals die ‘slowly and painfully’
A sickening video of a bullfighter repeatedly stabbing a bull in the head as it lays injured on the ground is being used as part of a call to get the blood sport banned.
The clip shows a matador plunging a knife through the animal’s skull after a fight in Bilbao, northern Spain.
Blood could be seen pouring from its head as the bullfighter knifes the beast again and again during an event last September.
A 45-second video of the injured bull being put out of its misery by the matador was posted on social media yesterday by PETA.
The animal welfare group launched a petition calling for a ban on bullfighting off the back of the gruesome footage.
In the shocking clip posted on social media by PETA, the bullfighter was seen knifing the injured bull again and again in Bilbao in northern Spain
A matador used a small knife to repeatedly stab the bull then wiped the blade covered in its own blood on the animal’s face
Activists wrote to Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, who was re-elected in a general election last week, asking him to step in and outlaw bullfighting.
A spokesman for the group said: ‘Every year, thousands of bulls endure a bloody death in bullrings across Spain.
‘These deaths are slow and painful: men on horseback and on foot drive lances and barbed sticks into bulls’ backs before the tormented animals are stabbed with a sword or dagger.
‘At the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, terrified bulls are shocked with electric prods to force them out onto the streets, where they’re harassed by screaming mobs.
‘The panicked animals often slip and crash into walls, resulting in broken bones and other injuries. Later, these same bulls will be barbarically killed in the bullring ~ a fact many tourists are unaware of.
‘Compassionate people understand that this violence is needless and unjustifiable, and opposition to bullfighting is growing both within Spain and around the world.
‘It’s time for the Spanish government to step up and protect animals.’
The matador was filmed stabbing the bull in the skull as blood poured its head in a sickening video used as part of a call to ban the blood sport
So far over 100 towns across Spain have banned bullfighting and in July 2010 the autonomous region of Catalonia voted to stop the practice.
According to an Ipsos MORI poll, over 80 per cent of Spanish people oppose the cruel event as attendances at many cities has fallen in recent years.
PETA’s letter to Pedro Sanchez described how the animals die ‘slowly and painfully’ during a bullfight.
It reads: ‘Bullfights are immensely cruel events in which thousands of animals are slowly and painfully killed across Spain every year.
‘Attackers on horseback and on foot drive lances and sharp sticks into bulls’ necks and backs, and when the animals have become weakened by blood loss, a matador finally kills them with a sword.
‘Bulls also suffer in bull runs, in which they’re forced to run through the streets while being harassed by a terrifying mob.
‘The panicked animals often lose their footing and crash into walls, breaking bones and otherwise injuring themselves.
‘Please listen to the voices of people in Spain and across the world and ban bullfighting and bull runs now.’