It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, where two stallions fight over a female to ring the Chinese new year. And when it’s the Year of the Horse, the fights are considered to be even more significant. They’re held in small villages across southern China and have been condemned by animal rights groups, including Hong-Kong based Animals Asia. But those who participate in the events defend the fights and insist they take care of the animals.

(L-R) Poppy Delevingne, Model of the Year Cara Delevingne, Joan Smalls and Karlie Kloss pose in the winners room at the British Fashion Awards at London Coliseum on December 1, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Afghans shout anti-U.S. slogans as they burn tires and block a highway during a protest in reaction to a small American church's plan to burn copies of the Quran, at Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, September 10, 2010. Religious and political leaders across the Muslim world welcomed a decision by the church to suspend its plans to torch copies of their holy book but some said Friday the damage has already been done. (Photo by Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

People shop at a market ahead of the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong on February 6, 2024 ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Dragon which falls on February 10. (Photo by Peter Parks/AFP Photo)

Women stand on a street ahead of the Lunar New Year celebration at the Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand, February 10, 2021. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

A handout image released by the Taronga Zoo shows Veiled Chameleon hatchlings at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, 11 March 2015. Taronga has welcomed more than 20 baby chameleons, with the last of three clutches of eggs hatching this week. Veiled Chameleons, or Chamaeleo calyptratus, are native to Saudi Arabia and Yemen and can live up to five years. (Photo by EPA/Taronga Zoo)

A wild elephant that strayed into the town moves through the streets as people follow at Siliguri in West Bengal state, India, Wednesday, February 10, 2016. The elephant had wandered from the Baikunthapur forest on Wednesday, crossing roads and a small river before entering the town. The panicked elephant ran amok, trampling parked cars and motorbikes before it was tranquilized. (Photo by AP Photo)

A pregnant woman poses on June 19, 2018 in Vertou, western France. France had an estimated population of 68.4 million by January 1, 2024, representing a further year-on-year increase of 0.3 percent, limited by a marked drop in the birth rate, the INSEE national statistics bureau of France reported on January 16, 2024. In 2023, 678,000 babies were born in France, 6.6 percent fewer than the previous year, the lowest number of births in any year since 1946. Over the same period, there were 631,000 deaths, down 6.5 percent on 2022, a year marked by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and episodes of extreme heat. (Photo by Loic Venance/AFP Photo)