Seen as a way to gain votes from traditionalists, the Spanish education minister has been drawing up plans for students to complete an optional two year, 2000 hour vocational course at school to prepare them for moving into what is a big industry in Spain.

Students will graduate with a professional diploma in Tauromachy - bullfighting - and Auxiliary Livestock Activities.

Naturally the move has angered animal rights activists and many others in Spain, who believe bullfighting has moved past its use-by date.

However, the government argues that bullfighting is "an asset of cultural interest,' something that is at the very heart of Spanish life.

"Rubbish," retorts the opponents. "Bullfighting is torture, not culture."

Could you imagine sending your kid off to school with his sword, cape and bullfighting kit on school sport day?

Not unlike our daughter Lizzie, when she was working at a school in England on her gap year.

She convinced a couple of the British teachers that kids in Queensland and the Northern Territory do boxing with kangaroos and wrestle crocodiles on a Wednesday afternoon for school sport.

I AM sure many of you will have heard before about the night Dudley went to a Madrid restaurant after watching a bullfight.

Like most travelers to Spain, he couldn't read the menu, so asked for the chef's special. Cojones they were called and Dudley didn't have a clue what was in them, but they tasted delicious and didn't cost much.

Dudley asked the waiter what they were.

"Testicles from the bull killed in the ring today, Se or."

Dudley thought they tasted alright, so next evening he went back to the same restaurant and ordered the cojones again.

When the plate arrived, Dudley was surprised to see the serving was much smaller than the night before.

"How come the cojones are so much smaller today?" asked Dudley.

The waiter smiled, "sometimes the matador he wins, sometimes the matador, he loses. Today the bull had a good day."

THE reality is the bull never has a good day.

Bullfighting is a very one-sided contest, always ending in the bull being killed.

It goes without saying that bullfighting is a tad dangerous for the matador too, but sadly in Spain it is always fatal for the bull. I am even told that if a bullfighter is gored to death, they seek out the mother of the bull and kill her too, so she won't continue to breed killer bulls.

But when a bullfighter is gored, they go to great lengths to save him.

Bullrings have an emergency ward out the back, with an operating theatre and a specially trained surgeon on standby who is an expert in dealing with horn wounds.

Bullrings are also equipped with a chapel, where a matador can pray before his fight, but importantly, with a resident priest on hand, he can quickly deliver the last rites if the surgeon fails. Activists against bullfighting argue that this is a barbaric blood sport in which the bull suffers stress and torture, before being finally killed. They say this is out of touch with modern expectations about how animals should be treated.

However bullfighting has a rich history and the proponents argue strongly in favour of keeping that tradition alive. They counter the animal welfare argument by suggesting a fighting bull lives a very pampered six years before being killed, whereas a normal beast raised for slaughter only lives for one or two years.

Those six years are spent roaming freely in beautiful wooded pastures, with abundant food, shelter and a great life.

They say death in a slaughterhouse is more barbaric and because people don't need to eat meat, there is no difference between bullfighting and consuming a lump of steak, as are both indulged in for sheer entertainment.

Yes, bullfighting is a little like boxing, horse racing, fox hunting and even rugby league, isn't it? Many people think they are barbaric activities, others love them. Personally I think ballroom dancing is torture.

But everyone sees life differently, don't they?