Panaji, Apr 29 (IANS): Bull-fighting or dhirio, a sport in Goa where two muscular bovines brutallyb head-butt each other to the cheers of thousands of spectators, should be revived, a BJP legislator demanded Monday.

Vishnu Wagh said that bull-fighting has been a tradition in the state for decades and with the sport now banned in Goa following a high court directive, border villages in Maharashtra have taken over the custom and patronage.

"Dhirio should be revived at the earliest. Thousands of Goans are going to Maharashtra for bull-fights. It used to be a tradition here," Wagh said.

A typical dhiri (singular for dhirio) involves two specially reared fighting bulls, head-butting each other until one scampers away from the ring, which is lined by thousands of screaming spectators and gamblers who bet on their favourite animal.

The fights were banned in Goa after a ban on it by the high court in the late 1990s.

Wagh cited a recent Supreme Court judgment on sports involving animals that, he said, ruled that animal-fights were alright as long as there were proper safeguards in place, and asked the state government to seek legal opinion on restarting bull-fights.

"It will be a good source of income for the government and can be seen from a tourism perspective too," Wagh said.