A diver dressed as “Mermaid of the Serpent Depths” performs in front of a sign marking the Lunar New Year of the Snake inside an aquarium at Manila Ocean Park on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa/AFP Photo)

A dog owner feeds her dog during a dinner for dogs event ahead of the Lunar New Year at Kong Shan Yunnan Bistro restaurant in Shanghai, China, on January 25, 2025. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Reuters)

Dressed for the traditional New Year's festival known as “La Diablada”, in Pillaro, Ecuador, Friday, January 5, 2018. Thousands of singing and dancing devils take over the mountain town for six days of revelry in the streets. Local legend holds that anyone who adopts a costume for the celebration and wears it at the event six years in a row will have good luck. (Photo by Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo)

Belgium's Davina Philtjens comforts Italy's Manuela Giugliano sitting on the ground at the end of the Women Euro 2022 group D soccer match between Italy and Belgium at the Manchester City Academy Stadium, in Manchester, England, Monday, July 18, 2022. Belgium won 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. (Photo by Jon Super/AP Photo)

First graders attend a festive ceremony to mark the start of another school year in Slaviansk, September 1, 2014. September 1 marks the start of a new academic year for students in Ukraine. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Balis Chinese community perform the dragon dance during Chinese New Year called Ngelawang ceremony on January 21, 2023 in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. The Chinese diaspora of Southeast Asia is celebrating Lunar New Year, as COVID-19 restrictions have been removed, it is traditionally a time for people to meet their relatives and take part in celebrations with families. In Indonesia, ethnic Chinese families visited temples to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit on January 22. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)

People dressed as a “Chinese Dragon”, swim in water at the Beijing Aquarium on January 5, 2012 in Beijing, China. The new year in Chinese calendar is the year of Dragon which will fall on January 21, 2012. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

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.