Government Allows Jallikattu and Bull Races; PETA Vows to Go to Supreme Court

Via a 7 January 2016 notification in the Gazette of India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is again permitting events like jallikattu and bull races.

PETA India has documented that during jallikattu, terrified bulls are often deliberately disoriented by being given substances like alcohol; having their tails twisted and bitten; being stabbed and jabbed by sickles, spears, knives or sticks; and being punched, jumped on and dragged to the ground.

And as calculated from various media reports, there were approximately 1,100 human injuries and 17 deaths, including that of a child, from 2010 to 2014 as a result of jallikattu-type events.

During races, bulls are often hit with nail-studded sticks. In bullfights, a round ends when one of the bulls manages to flee or is killed.

The MoEF&CC’s decision comes despite a Supreme Court judgement that categorically held that the Ministry cannot allow jallikattu, bull races or bullfights and cannot modify the notification dated 11 July 2011 (which banned forcing bulls to perform) without approval from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). Just last week, the AWBI advised the Ministry not to go against the Supreme Court judgement. The court had also ruled that cruelty is inherent in these events, as bulls are not anatomically suited for such activities. Making them participate is subjecting them to unnecessary pain and suffering, so such events were outlawed. The court also stated that when culture and tradition are at variance with the law enacted by Parliament, the law would take precedence.

You can help bulls. Urge the government to withdraw the Gazette notification.