Bird and buffalo fights back in India’s northeast after 9-year ban

In Pictures

The nearly 3,000 spectators applauded as the tiny birds entered the ring. Some in the audience perched on trucks for a better view; others clung to tree branches.

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 organised 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, Dispur, 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 a cash prize of 3,000 rupees ($36).

Dijen Bharali, an organiser, insisted that the fights are safe for the bulbuls.

“The small birds get tired after the fight that lasts about five to 10 minutes each, but they do not get injured,” he said. He added that 50 families had brought two birds each to the daylong festival.

The Supreme Court of India stopped fights like these in 2014, along with other sports like bullock 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 intended to protect the animals.

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

Local people catch the