AP PHOTOS: Crowds in India’s northeast cheer bird and buffalo fights, back after 9-year ban

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — The tiny birds entered the ring as nearly 3,000 spectators applauded, some standing on trucks for a better view, while others clung to branches in trees.

After a nine-year hiatus, bird and buffalo fights are back at festivals in India’s northeast after the Supreme Court ended a ban on the tradition.

Despite opposition from wildlife activists, animal fights were organized last week during Assam’s Magh Bihu harvest festival, under a new state law that promises to make the contests safe for the animals.

At a temple on the outskirts of the state capital, the bulbuls — songbirds about the size of a bluejay — fluttered up in the air and swooped down on their opponents, their owners holding a string tied around their legs. Some spectators made bets with each other.

Three judges watch the birds’ technique, and give the winner’s owner with a cash prize of 3,000 rupees ($35).

Dijen Bharali, an organizer, said the fights are safe for the bulbuls. “The small birds get tired after the fight that lasts around five to ten minutes each, but they do not get injured,” he said. He said 50 families brought two birds each to the day-long festival.

India’s Supreme Court stopped fights like these in 2014, along with other sports like bull cart races, under the country’s 1960 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. But last year, it signed off on new laws made by some state governments that revived the custom while putting rules in place to protect the animals.

Popular tradition dates Assam bird fights to the 18th-century, when a king saw two wild birds fighting. It’s a popular pastime at the January harvest festival, along with bonfires, feasts and other games.

Local people catch the wild birds ahead of the festival season,