Victor Barrio: Mother of bull that gored matador to death to be slaughtered

Animal rights groups have called for 'total abolition of bullfighting'

A campaign to prevent the slaughter of the mother of the bull that killed a Spanish matador has attracted thousands of supporters.

Victor Barrio, 29, became the first bullfighter to die in the ring in 30 years when he was gored to death by a bull on live television while fighting in Madrid on Saturday.

The matador was fatally pierced in the chest by the animal in the eastern town of Teruel. The bull was subsequently killed.

According to Spanish tradition, the mother of any bull that kills a human is also destined to be slaughtered, in order to “kill off the bloodline”.

But animal rights campaigners have protested against the killing of the bull's mother, named Lorenzo, in a movement that has attracted swathes of support through social media.

PACMA, a political party in Spain that defends the rights of animals, has set up a petition to oppose the killing and promoted it under the hashtag #SalvemosALorenza - “save Lorenzo” - which has been trending across Spain.

The group tweeted: “Haven’t we already seen enough blood?” alongside an image defending the rights of the female bull. The tweet was shared by more than 1,000 users.

The party has also rallied support on Facebook, stating in a public post: “No rite, tradition or custom based on a succession of deaths, fed by the blood and hatred, it cannot be good for any society.”

It concluded that the only way to bring an end to such breaches of animal rights was bring an end to all bullfighting.

The statement continued: “We have only known an ethical end to end all this: the total abolition of bullfighting all the festivities.”

The post has been shared nearly 7,000 times, and people have expressed anger in the comments.

Carmen Fraile Martin wrote: “It is shameful that the mother is killed because her son killed a human being. That is absurdity!

“When the bull in the ring he's defending himself. But the matador did not deserve it, either. The solution is in trying to end this demented and twisted tradition that unfortunately has many followers.”

The fate of Lorenzo is not clear, but Spanish media is reporting that Lorenza is already dead.