Two men were gored to death and 41 others were injured during a controversial bull-taming event in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, police said on Monday.
The sport, known as jallikattu (‘taming the bull’ in Tamil), was banned by India's Supreme Court in 2014, which agreed with a petition by animal rights activists that the practice constitutes animal cruelty.
However, the state government passed an executive order lifting the ban in 2017 following protests by locals demanding the traditional sport be allowed.
In the first of deaths during the jallikattu season, which began January 14, two spectators died of injuries at possibly the biggest such event in the Pudukkottai district on Sunday, police officer S Kavitha said.
The event - which featured 1,353 bulls, more than 500 tamers and over 27,000 spectators - was inaugurated by the state's top officials who were aiming to create a record.
Twenty-nine more spectators and 12 tamers were wounded, of which 13 were still hospitalized due to major injuries, Kavitha said.
Jallikattu is similar to the Spanish bull-fighting tradition and is held during the Tamil New Year harvest festival season of Pongal.
A bull is made to run in an open space where several men try to tame it by controlling its horns. The winner gets cash rewards, gold coins and other prizes.
Animal rights activists have long opposed the tradition, pointing to the injuries it causes to bulls as well as human deaths. They claim the animals are often given alcohol and chilli powder is thrown at them to make them react.