Spanish matador fights bull while holding his baby

A prominent Spanish matador is facing fierce criticism after posting a photograph of himself in the ring with a bull while holding his five-month-old daughter.

Francisco Rivera Ordonez posted the image to Instagram, describing it as his daughter Carmen's "debut".

The picture has sparked an investigation by the Child Protection Agency in Andalusia, as well as widespread condemnation.

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Alfonso Alonso, Spain's acting minister of social security, said it was "not right in any circumstances to put a child at risk", while equality minister Maria Jose Sanchez said: "A fireman wouldn't dream of taking a child to put out a fire nor would a football player run around with a child in their arms during a match."

Spanish animal rights group Partido Animalista Contra el Maltrato Animal also described the picture as shameful and urged for action to be taken against Rivera.

In Britain, comedian and animal rights campaigner Ricky Gervais re-tweeted the picture with a new caption: "I kinda fused animal and child abuse", although the post was subsequently deleted.

However, fellow bullfighters have defended Rivera, posting photographs of themselves holding children in the ring and urging critics to respect their values and culture.

Rivera himself said: “There is no safer place for her to be than in my arms. This is Carmen’s debut, the fifth bullfighting generation in my family." He added that his father had done the same with him as a child.

"Appealing to his own family history may not offer the most obvious proof of bullfighting's safety," say The Guardian, pointing out that the matador's father, Francisco Rivera Perez, was fatally gored by a bull in 1984, at the age of 36. Rivera also had to undergo life-saving surgery last year, says the newspaper, after he was gored in the stomach during a bullfight.