IF every tourist to Spain were made aware of the brutal facts behind bull-fighting, very few would make it part of their holiday.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is urging all tourists not to visit bull-fights, even out of curiosity.

Most people who do are shocked and upset by what they see, but for as long as each new visitor to Spain visits just one bull-fight, the events will continue.

Bulls are not the only victims of such humiliation. Many horses are wounded and killed.

Terrified by the smell of the bull, they have to be drugged before being forced into the ring. Although the horses are protected by padding, they are frequently gored in the belly.

Their vocal chords are cut so the audience do not hear their screams of fear. Death is the only release for bull and horse. There is no escape for either.

SHEILA BRENNAN, Bombay Street, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.