Raging bulls

Britain's only professional bullfighter - Frank Evans, son of a Salford butcher - made a dramatic comeback to the bullring last week after spending some four years in retirement. At 67 El Ingles, as he is fondly known in Spain, is possibly the oldest matador in the world. His prosthetic knee and quadruple heart bypass have apparently not dented either his skill or his confidence as he took on - and killed - two bulls.

Evans also has a book to plug, which may explain some of his newfound enthusiasm for the ring; he'll be appearing in at least one Waterstone's store next week. Several animal welfare groups have expressed their outrage.

Steeped in tradition and highly ritualised, bullfighting is most closely associated with the Iberian peninsula but can also be found across Central and South America. Individual events may differ, but most follow a format similar to the Spanish Corrida de Toros - literally, the “Running of the Bulls.”

In a fight bulls are typically stabbed several times before a matador finally dispatches it with a sword; deaths can be drawn out and deeply distressing. Bullfighting guide The Bulletpoint Bullfight paints a vivid description of the spectacle. Warning that bullfighting is "not for the squeamish," it advises spectators to "be prepared for blood" and to "be prepared to witness various failed attempts at killing the animal before it lies down."

In Spain most blood sports have been banned, but bullfighting has thus far emerged relatively unscathed. Supporters argue that it is an integral component of Spanish culture, and that conditions in the ring are no worse then that of the slaughterhouse. Ernest Hemingway, in his 1932 work Death in the Afternoon, described bullfighting as "the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter's honour."

Those against bullfighting, on the other hand, have argued that culture should not be used as a justification for animal cruelty. They have also made much of the apparent strength of public support behind their position.

Alarmingly, it has been reported that the European Union has given taxpayer-funded grant money to Spanish farmers breeding bulls for slaughter in the ring. Campaign groups are demanding transparency from the European Commission, and an end to the practice.

Killing animals for entertainment is always morally questionable; doubly so when the pain and suffering inflicted is tantamount to torture. That such a practice has a history going back centuries is no justification for it to continue; length of existence should not be the sole determinate for legitimising tradition. It's time El Ingles hung up his cape for good.