uthinki Considered Opinion?
Professional matador, 29-year-old Victor Barrio, was killed in a bullfight in Teruel, in Spain.
The event was filmed on live television, as part of the festival Feria del Ángel.
The bull, known as Maños and weighing some 529 kilograms, flipped Barrio over with its horns, before goring him further as it drove him into the ground.
Festival participants came to the matador’s aid, though Victor Barrio’s injuries were severe and he later died in hospital with doctors unable to save him.
A warning that the following video contains graphic images.
Bullfighting in Spain is considered part of the Spanish heritage and culture; there are also those who are strongly opposed to bullfighting.
Barrio’s death is said to be the first death of a matador in a bullfight in Spain this century, and the first human death in the bullring death since 1987.
The deaths of the bulls, however, are virtually assured.
Maños already had been lanced by the picadors.
Their role nowadays is principally to make it easier for the matador to win the bullfight.
Lancing the bull in the neck results in the bull charging straighter and being less likely to turn, reducing its ability to raise its head which causes fatigue and drains the stamina of the bull overall, and ultimately results in the bull keeping its head lowered.
However, as the death of bullfighter Victor Barrio demonstrated when facing a powerful bull, safety is not assured in such matters of man versus beast.
Feature Image Credit: OnTheMarketblog
