Spanish matador Ivan Fandino died Saturday in France after getting caught in his cloak and being gored in the chest. Fandino was 36 years old, and is survived by a wife and daughter. He is the second matador to be killed in the past 12 months, with 29-year-old Victor Barrio suffering the same fate last July. Fandino was known for his brash style, famously fighting six bulls on his own in 2012.
WARNING: The video of Fandino being gored is graphic in nature. To view it, click here.
Fandino's lung was punctured by the bull's horn when he got his feet tangled in his cloak. The incident occurred at the Aire-sur-l'Adour bullfighting festival in France. It wasn't Fandino's first fight of the day, as he had successfully cut off a bull's ear earlier. As he was being transported from the arena, witnesses said that Fandino was saying "hurry up, I'm dying" to fellow matadors taking him away.
The 5-year-old bull was seriously injured and put down as well, revitalizing the Humane Society International's calls to put bull fighting in the past forever. "For the 1,000 bulls brutally killed in French bullfights every year, every single fight is a tragedy in which they have no chance of escaping a protracted and painful death," they said in a statement. "Bloodsports like this should be consigned to the history books, no one should lose their life for entertainment, human or animal."
Fandino had been injured before, including a 2014 incident in France in which he was knocked unconscious by a bull. Bull fighting wasn't legal in France until 2012, and it has increased in popularity. Spanish matadors consider bull fighting to be an intrinsic part of their culture, and as long as it's legal it will always have a market. It's a sport that struggles in the spotlight due to the inherent brutality of it, and this latest incident won't do anything to help that fact.
