A new front has opened up in sport’s war on drugs. Contestants in Spanish bullfights are to be subjected to dope testing if they ‘behave strangely’ during bouts.

We’re not talking about the matadors here.

According to Spanish paper El Mundo, dope testing of bulls has taken place occasionally before, but new procedures at the San Isidro festival will see more testing, with the actual work carried out by an official lab for the first time. Scientists will be looking for either steroids or tranquilisers.

“The first give the bull more resistance, and may mask a limp or a small injury so the animal passes preliminary inspection,” Mirat Fernando, a vet with the Regional Public Health Laboratory told the paper. “… And tranquilizers are used to change the behaviour of the bull.”

Making bulls more docile is not something that goes down well with fans. The Daily Telegraph notes that some are already saying recent bulls have been rather too meek.

An investigation into doping began in 2002 after some bulls “appeared to behave strangely”, but it was inconclusive (The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph).

The San Isidro event in Madrid is regarded as one of the most prestigious in the bullfighting calendar. Fines of up to 60,000 euros may be imposed on those who drug their bulls.

Image: detail from photo of a bullfight in Granada / via Wikimedia