Participants try to control a bull during an annual bull taming event "Jallikattu" on the outskirts of Madurai.

Video. Thousands attend Indian bull-taming festival amid Covid surge

Thousands of spectators gather to watch dozens of men participate in a traditional bull-wrestling festival in southern India despite a fresh surge in Covid cases and restrictions to curb its spread.

Thousands of spectators gather to watch dozens of men participate in a traditional bull-wrestling festival in southern India despite a fresh surge in Covid cases and restrictions to curb its spread.

During the Jallikattu festival, bulls are released from pens and men try to grab their horns to win prizes.

It has long attracted the ire of animal rights activists who say the bulls are given alcohol and chilli powder is thrown in their faces to agitate them before the clash. 

Organisers insist the animals are not mistreated.