A bull killed a retired matador last Friday as he was preparing animals for a bullfight at a historic arena in Malaga, Spain, officials said .
Ricardo Ortiz was killed while handling the bulls at La Malagueta, a bullfighting ring, when one of the bulls fatally gored him, said bullfight promoter Lances de Futuro . He was working alongside other bullfighters a day ahead of the Corrida Picassiana — an event themed after famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, held at La Malagueta — when he died.
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“One of the bulls gave (Ortiz) a severe goring that caused his death. We want to convey our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased, a much-loved and respected person in the bullfighting world,” the company said in a statement.
Lances de Futuro on with the event, paying tribute to Ortiz with a moment of silence.
Born in 1974, Ortiz came from a family of bullfighters reported Spanish news site El Pais . He retired from bullfighting more than 20 years ago but worked with Lances De Futuro to help at its events.
Dangerous, controversial sport
Bullfighting and bull running are famously part of Spanish culture, though the sport and activity are extremely dangerous and have been condemned by animal welfare activists all over the globe for decades.
In February, another man was gored to death after being chased down by a bull and lifted in the air as he was climbing over metal barriers in an attempt to escape, according to the U.K. Sun . Last September, a 57-year-old was killed at the annual Toro del Gayumbo bull running festival in Ubrique, Spain, where bulls are turned loose to run through the streets.
Spanish and Latin American activists against bullfighting say the public increasingly agrees with them in rejecting it over animal welfare concerns, adding that attendance at such events has steadily dropped over the years, and that the sport is only kept alive through public funding and promotion.
“The data show that bullfighting is not growing, but surviving thanks to subsidies and promotional policies targeting young people,” said Aïda Gascón, Spanish director of AnimaNaturalis. “Attempts are being made to mask the natural decline of a practice increasingly rejected by society, using public money to attract new generations who would otherwise never step foot in a bullring.”