 Although the actual origins are disputed, genetic studies have indicated that the breeding stock have an unusually old genetic pool.The aggression of the bull has been maintained (or augmented, see above) by selective breeding and has come to be popular among the people of Spain and Portugal and the parts of Latin America where it took root during colonial rule, as well as parts of Southern France, where bullfighting spread during the 19th century.In May 2010, Spanish scientists cloned the breed for the first time.