A buffalo fighting festival in Phuc Tho District has been cancelled this year because of controversy over concern it promotes cruelty to animals.

Buffaloes fight in January

Nguyen Khac Loi, deputy director of Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, signed the order banning the festival on January 27.

The Phuc Tho Buffalo Fighting Festival attracted considerable local and international media attention last year when 76 fought, with the winning beast publicly slaughtered, ostensibly as an offering to deities, but the meat was sold at high prices.

In response to widespread criticism about the cruelty of the event, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hoang Anh Tuan, asked localities not to organize events that might incite violence.