The president of a French bullfighting club has been rushed to hospital after being gored by a bull.

Dominique Perron, president of the local Paul Ricard bullfighting association, was gored by a bull after it jumped out of the ring at the bullfighting festival in Bayonne, southern France, and attacked him and a photographer.

The two men were first gored in the testicles and then suffered wounds all the way up to the stomach in the attack, according to the Daily Mail.

One witness said: “Mr Perron was hit second. He was hit hard in the right leg, which was badly fractured. His ankle was also dislocated, and there may be other injuries.

“Mr Perron was clearly in massive pain, and was screaming and shouting as the attack happened. He was naturally very frightened.”

Both victims were rescued and rushed to hospital. The bull was then killed shortly afterward.

In a recent speech, Mr Perron praised the “spirit of conviviality” in the sport which was imported over the border from Spain in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Bullfighting is illegal in most of the country but a special judicial exemption means it is allowed in certain towns and villages along the Spanish border where there is a strong local bullfighting tradition.

The first recorded fight in Bayonne was recorded in 1701 in the central square as part of a festival in honour of King Philip V of Spain.

Bullfighting has been denounced by animal rights protesters as a “cruel” blood sport, with animal rights campaigners Peta calling a group of men gored at the Pamplona bull run last month as “drunk idiots”.

In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A wild cow leaps over revellers into the bull ring after the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona in 2015 In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A runner falls in front of Tajo y la Reina fighting bulls at the entrance to the bullring during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Runners fall in front of Tajo y la Reina fighting bulls at the entrance to the bullring during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Runners, or mozos, are chased by bulls from El Tajo y la Reina ranch during the second bull run of the Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain An El Tajo y La Reina ranch fighting bull falls to the ground as it takes the Mercaderes curve during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A wild cow leaps over revellers into the bull ring after the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A wild cow leaps over revellers into the bull ring after the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A runner is gored by a bull, from El Tajo y la Reina ranch, at bullring at the end of the second bullrun of Sanfermines in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Revellers run with the Tajo and the Reina's fighting bulls entering Estafeta street during the third day of the San Fermin Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A Del Tajo la Reina's bull falls during the second "encierro" (bull-run) of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Revellers run with the Tajo and the Reina's fighting bulls entering Estafeta street during the third day of the San Fermin Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Runners enter the bullring during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona in 2015

Now politicians in Spain have even begun talks to outlaw the sport completely.

Left wing mayors in Madrid, Valencia and Alicante who stormed to victory in May’s regional elections are now talking about outlawing the practice completely or taking away public subsides.