According to official figures, released after a recent dramatic case which led to a child's death, there are half a million recorded dog bites in France every year. On average one victim dies across every twelve month period.

And you thought French bullfights were relatively civilised - "they don't kill the bull, of course"? Well, they do - around a thousand bulls a year die in French arenas, mainly concentrated in the South-West and set within an established culture of stirring music, paella and sangria. The old argument over whether la tauromachie should continue broke out again recently, ending as usual in a stand-off. One unrepentant fan is Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, Minister of Health, Youth and Sports, who says the corrida offers a "marvellous spectacle".

From Riviera Reporter 124, Dec 2007/Jan 2008

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