France considers bull-fighting ban

BULL and cockfighting could be banned in France under a draft law that has been submitted to the French parliament.

Two MPs - Socialist Geneviève Gaillard and UMP politician Muriel Marland-Militello - say the "barbaric" sport has no place in modern France.

They want to delete one article from the Code Pénal which allows bull and cockfighting if it is "long-running local tradition".

According to Paris Match, several hundred bullfights take place in the south of France every year, killing about 1,000 animals. Cockfighting is more common in the north.

Mrs Marland-Militello said at a press conference this week: "Those who defend bullfighting are terribly active, but very much in the minority."

The bill has the support of about a dozen MPs so far, including the MP for the Gard, where Nîmes is famous for its bullfights.

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