Horse fighting.

More than 500 villagers, including schoolchildren, gather in a makeshift bamboo and wood enclosure in a vacant lot in the town to witness the bloody duel of stallions.

"People love horses so they also love watching the horses fight. It's like seeing the other side of the horse -- from a farm to a fighting animal". "It's an old tradition. It's embedded in our culture," says a local horse aficionado, noting that Filipinos have a long tradition of blood sports involving spiders, dogs, and horses in addition to roosters or cocks.

Cockfighting (click here) is legal in the Philippines and is, in fact, a popular cultural tradition among Filipinos, rich and poor alike.

Horsefighting was outlawed by the Philippine government in 1998, but local officials and police seldom enforce the law.

The Animal Welfare Act of 1998 specifically bans horse fighting, with Section 6 of the law categorically stating that it is "unlawful to subject any dog or horse to dogfights or horse fights."

Animal welfare and rights activists are urging the government to strictly implement the law, saying that subjecting animals like horses to fights is cruel.

Dog fighting, cockfighting, bullfighting and horse fighting are examples of animal blood sports, which glorify violence for the sake of monetary gain, entertainment, or other purposes.

Horse fight enthusiast in the province of North Cotabato do not consider horse fighting as cruelty to animals but a form of sports traditionally practiced by the tribal chieftains of different tribes in Southern Philippines such as the Matigsalugs, Bagobos, Manabos and T’boli.

Article from: Dario Agnote, Kyodo News/ABS CBN