The centuries-old traditional festival kicked off Wednesday, January 16, in Tamil Nadu, the Southern part of India.

It was marked with a release of about 500 bulls and around the same number of "tamers" who scuffled to grab onto the bull horns and tame them successfully, in order to win prizes. At the end of the day, forty-nine people were injured and nine landed in the hospital, said S. Natarajan, a government official from the city, to AFP.

However, on Sunday, 1,300 bulls were released and some broke through barricades separating thousands of fans from the arena at the festival.

“Two spectators were hit by the bulls near the arena. One of them died on the spot and another died at the hospital,” P. Sangaraj, a police officer in Pudukottai, told AFP.

The festival itself has caused a lot of controversy with animal rights activists, who claim that Jallikattu practices involve a lot of animal cruelty. Activists claim that before the contests, the bulls are fed alcohol and chili powder is thrown in their faces to make them aggressive.

India’s Supreme Court made a ruling in 2016 outlawing Jallikattu, but the festival organisers and Tamil Nadu residents took to the streets to protest the ruling, denying the activists' claims and stating that JalliKattu was part of their culture and identity.

The state government finally over-ruled the court's verdict, allowing the festival to keep running.