If bullfighting wasn’t brutal and dangerous enough already, an amateur Portuguese bullfighter just shocked the world by challenging a bull with a young child in his arms (video).
Thankfully, the bull was unable to harm or injure either of them. It charged ferociously at father and daughter, but was restrained by a rope.
The man’s blatant disregard for the child’s safety is being widely condemned. According to Mirror Online, anti-bullfighting association Basta has lodged a formal complaint with Portugal’s National Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Children and Young People’s Rights, and called on authorities to identify the man carrying the child. Basta called the incident a “situation of total irresponsibility and a clear violation of the legislation that protects children in Portugal, as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
The incident supposedly took place during an annual festival in Casa da Ribeira, a village on Terceira, one of Portugal’s autonomous islands in the Azores archipelago. During the festival, a bull is set loose on the streets, tethered to a long rope, as part of festivities.
The footage surfaced on the same day that a bill for abolishing bullfighting was overwhelmingly defeated by the Portuguese Parliament.
In 2016, one of Spain’s most renowned matadors came under fire after posting a photo on Instagram showing him fighting a bull while holding his baby daughter.
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