MADRID (AP) — A small Spanish town has come under fire for alleged cruelty to animals after a video showing a young calf being taunted, stabbed and eventually killed in the town's festival was much criticized on social media.

The town of Valmojado, located southwest of Madrid, issued a statement Thursday defending the spectacle as a legitimate part of Spain's bullfighting culture. It said the video had been manipulated and misrepresented the calf event earlier this month.

The town protested the barrage of insults it says it and its residents have received since the video was posted this week by the Spanish animal rights group PACMA.

PACMA, which is campaign for a ban on bullfighting and related events, said it had never witnessed such animal cruelty at a festival.