Spanish Fighting Bull - History of The Breed

History of The Breed

Some commentators trace the origins of the fighting bull to wild bulls from the Iberian Peninsula and their use for arena games in the Roman Empire.

Although the actual origins are disputed, genetic studies have indicated that the breeding stock have an unusually old genetic pool and an unusual amount of DNA usually found in cattle in Africa, perhaps coming from the Maghreb and dating from the period of Moorish occupation of Spain.

The aggression of the bull has been maintained (or augmented, see above) by selective breeding and has come to be popular among the people of Spain, France and Portugal for the purpose of bullfighting. It was later introduced to Latin America by the Spanish settlers who wished to hold bullfights in their colonies.

In May 2010, Spanish scientists cloned the first of the breed. The calf, named Got, meaning "glass" in Valencian, was cloned from a bull named Vasito and implanted into a Holstein host mother.