Julian Abram Wainwright photography

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Do Son, a popular beach-side town three hours east of Hanoi, plays host to an annual Buffalo Fighting Festival every autumn.

Water buffalo arrive from all over the mountainous north, where farmers have had them in isolated training for months.

The bulls are led into a football stadium and lock horns, the victor eventually chasing the vanquished out of the grounds to thunderous applauds from thousands of spectators, most of whom are betting heavily on the fights....
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Do Son, a popular beach-side town three hours east of Hanoi, plays host to an annual Buffalo Fighting Festival every autumn.

Water buffalo arrive from all over the mountainous north, where farmers have had them in isolated training for months.

The bulls are led into a football stadium and lock horns, the victor eventually chasing the vanquished out of the grounds to thunderous applauds from thousands of spectators, most of whom are betting heavily on the fights.

The buffalo - both winners and losers - are then slaughtered in the streets outside the stadium, with their prize-fighting meat fetching a tidy sum for their owners.
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