A famed Spanish matador was “gored up his rectum” during a bullfight in Spain on Monday before being immediately rushed to the hospital.
The horrifying injury occurred at the Maestranza arena in Seville, Spain, when 46-year-old champion bullfighter Morante de la Puebla, sometimes known as “King of Bullfighters,” abandoned his cape after the charging bull got the upper hand on him, per the New York Post.
The daring bull situated itself near the arena’s irrigation ditch, a shallow cavity where the beast has a rare upper hand against the tantalizing matadors. Then, the bull charged. Puebla attempted to sidestep, but ran into trouble.
He abandoned his cape, which is typically used to draw the bull, and made a break for it.
The bull wasn’t about to let him go so easily. While Puebla bolted with his back to the bull, the bovine rushed at him again — and plowed the tip of its curved horn right into the matador’s rectum.
Puebla had already cleared three bulls that day before the 4-inch injury in his completely severed rectum. His rectal wall and sphincter apparatus will require extensive repair. A video of the incident was shared on social media.
Though injuries like goring are common in bullfighting, fatalities, especially in the modern age, rarely happen. Animal rights activists have long decried the sport as being cruel, while defenders have said it preserves Spanish culture and encourages preservation of the bulls’ natural habitats.
“After the bullfighter, or matador, stabs the bull with banderillas (wooden sticks with spiked ends), his objective is to kill the bull by placing a sword between the animal’s shoulders,” argued Humane World.
“Advocates of bullfighting argue that if the matador aims correctly, the animal dies in a matter of seconds. This type of quick, clean death, however, is not the norm. In most cases, the matador misses the target, injuring the bull’s lungs and bronchial tubes, causing blood to flow and bubble through the animal’s mouth and nose,” it added.
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