A woman dressed in traditional attire participates in a procession to mark Gudi Padwa or the Marathi New Year in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)

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)

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.

Indian authorities hold a tiger skin as they set fire to a stockpile of illegal wildlife parts at the Delhi Zoo in New Delhi, India, Sunday, November 2, 2014. A stockpile of tiger skins, elephant tusks, rhino horns and other illegal animal parts were burned Sunday in an effort to discourage wildlife smuggling in South Asia. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)

Sarah Gibbons grades a new batch of Maple Syrup at Gibbons Family Farm in Frankville, Ontario, Canada, 31 March 2014. The annual maple syrup season marks the end of the often brutal central Canadian winters and heralds the beginning of spring. The maple tree, whose leaf dominates the Canada's flag, plays both a symbolic and practical role in the identity of Canadians who produce around 95 percent of the world's supply of maple syrup. (Photo by Stephen Morrison/EPA)

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)