Sir, – The death of an Irish teenager in a so-called “sporting” event in Spain (Home News, August 17th) serves as a reminder that some fiestas involving horrific animal cruelty can also be extremely dangerous to the people taking part.
The boy, whose family moved to Spain in 2004, was tragically killed when a bull crushed him against a fence encircling a bullring during the annual San Lorenza Fiesta.
The Department of Foreign Affairs should, in my view, advise any Irish visitors to Spain, or anyone planning to settle there, to avoid such events. It is bad enough that bulls are tortured to death in the rings, without also subjecting human beings to the risk of death or serious injury for “sport”. – Yours, etc,