A Palestinian protester runs past burning tyres amid clashes with Israeli security forces deploying during a raid in the old city of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on December 30, 2022. (Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP Photo)

A view of a bridge, which is usually submerged, over the dried bed of Llwyn-on Reservoir during a heatwave in Wales, Britain on July 18, 2022. (Photo by Carl Recine/Reuters)

A serviceman of the Carpathian Sich Battalion is seen at his position on a frontline, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the town of Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine on December 8, 2022. (Photo by Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters)

A majestic elephant visits the watering hole at the Zimanga Private Game Reserve in South Africa under the Milky Way in August 2022. (Photo by Sean Weekly/Animal News Agency)

Weighing 1,500lb, Brutus the great white shark lunges at some bait off Guadalupe Island, Mexico in July 2022. (Photo by Euan Rannachan/Media Drum Images/The Times)

Myanmar's Theiri Aung, seen in action during the women's sepak takraw semifinal against Vietnam, at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, on May 17, 2022. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

This photo taken on October 23, 2022 shows a soap bubble reflecting the Namsan Seoul Tower at Namsan Park in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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.