Bullfighter sought for killing a bull

The police are loking for one of Portugal's most celebrated bullfighters for illegally killing a bull in front of cheering fans in Moita, near Lisbon.

Pedrito de Portugal is said to have flagrantly breached Portuguese bullfighting law, which allows touradas (bullfights) but not the killing of bulls in the ring.

A near riot ensued as fans tried to shield him from the police when they tried to arrest him. The police fired shots, sending fans diving for cover.

According to some reports the police detained him but let him go when thousands of fans threatened to storm the police station. He was still at large yesterday.

Amateur video footage broadcast on the cable news channel SIC showed the bull's ear being cut off as it lay dying in the bullring. Both ears and the tail were then presented to Pedrito.

He is liable to fine of up to £250,000 or three years in jail.

Most Portuguese pride themselves on the relatively civilised nature of their bullfights ,which are usually carried out by horsemen who place steel darts in the bulls' backs. The bulls are injured, not killed, and usually sent straight to an abattoir for slaughter.

Pedrito's decision to ignore the rules comes as Portugal debates how to deal with the border town of Barrancos, which has ignored the ban imposed in 1929.

Two weeks ago, during the town's annual festa, two bulls were slain on four consecutive nights. Police did nothing to stop the killing, fearing a riot, and the Spanish bullfighters were sneaked back across the border.

Last year the Barrancos mayor was fined for allowing the killings. A court later overturned the fine.

Some MPs have been lobbying for a new bull-fighting law which, like France, would allow fighting bulls to be killed wherever this could be proved to be a local tradition.

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