Dear Editor

I think most people would be shocked to learn that their taxes have been used to subsidise bullfighting, all due to a peculiarity of the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy.

Together with fellow Conservative MEPs, I voted on Wednesday, October 28th to end this outrageous state of affairs. As part of vote on the EU’s budget for 2016, we backed a successful amendment to stop the subsidy.

We aim to end this sickening use of taxpayer’s money once and for all. Torturing animals for sport is barbaric. Yet it has been supported for years by EU funding through CAP grants.

Compassionate people will be dismayed to think that their cash has been diverted to prop up this outdated practice. Some in Southern Europe still defend bullfighting and resist its abolition. We may not be able to ban bullfighting but we can stop it benefiting from the misdirection of our money.

Anthea McIntyre MEP

European Parliament