Fighting bulls off the menu

The bull's testicles are often given to the matador as a sign of virility

By Flora Botsford in Madrid

Big changes are afoot for Spain's revered fighting bulls, thanks to BSE.

New EU rules on beef consumption mean animals over 30 months old must be submitted to the "prionic" test, before their meat can be sold.

Now one of Spain's favourite gastronomic traditions - the "tapas" of bull's tail, bull's testicles or bull's ear stew - is threatened with extinction.

Bullfighting entrepreneurs stand to lose millions of dollars in the process.

Spain's beef consumption is down by 50%

"We don't know what is going to happen," says bull breeder Jose Antonio Hernandez.

"Maybe it won't be as bad as all that, but at the rate it is going at the moment, I think it is a very sensitive and dangerous time for the bullfighting industry."

His eyes anxiously scan the herd on the picturesque farm in San Martin de la Vega, less than an hour's drive from the Spanish capital.

Here, bulls roam freely in the fields.

Prionic testing

They eat grass all year round, with the occasional grain supplement, but never animal feed.

There is absolutely no risk of BSE appearing in a fighting bull

Maximino Perez

Senor Hernandez doesn't think there is any risk of BSE infection, but prionic testing is a risk he is unwilling to take.

"I'm very worried. If just one bull tested positive after a bullfight, they would kill all the animals on the farm, even the mothers," he said.

At the first "corrida" of the season, in the small town of Valdemorillo north-west of Madrid, the mood is bleak.

The bulls entering the fight are four or five years old - the age of full maturity and guaranteed ferocity, but too old for beef.

Counting losses

As the matador's sword is raised to make the final, deadly incision at the base of the bull's neck, officials outside the ring are making drastic decisions.

Everyone is counting their losses.

"All bulls will be incinerated straight after the fight," explains official vet Alejandro Abascal.

"Since we do not have the facilities in this area to slaughter and test every animal, their carcasses will be burnt. There will be no meat sales."

In a small "fiesta" like Valdemorillo, bullfighting managers can recoup up to a third of their costs by selling bull meat.

Natural diet

Just from today's fight, impresario Maximino Perez stands to lose 6m pesetas ($37,000).

He looks like the hero of a Jilly Cooper novel; anger and disappointment mingle in his expression.

"There is absolutely no risk of BSE appearing in a fighting bull. I'm sure of it. Ninety-nine per cent of farmers feed them on a natural diet; you can't give them anything else because you want muscle, not fat," he says.

Beef consumption is down more than 50% since the BSE crisis began in Spain last November.

Bull's meat, and in particular, the meat of the fighting bull, may soon be consigned to folk history.