To Stand for Kindness is Patriotic: PETA Responds to DMK’s MK Stalin

DMK leader MK Stalin has ironically called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India “anti-national” for…wait for it…respecting India’s laws (specifically those that ban jallikattu)! As acknowledged by the Honourable Supreme Court, jallikattu, bull races and bullfights are banned under the Environment Ministry’s 2011 prohibition on the use of bulls in performances. But they are also illegal, as are many other cruelties, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act 1960. If you think that makes no sense, well neither do we. Here’s our statement:

“Article 51A(g) of the Constitution of India makes it the mandate of every Indian citizen to have compassion for animals. To stand for kindness is patriotic, to stand for cruelty is un-Indian. PETA India serves animals in respect of our country’s Constitutional mandate, its laws and its Supreme Court. To target an animal protection NGO which is not a law-making body, but rather a law-abiding body, is cheap and ineffective as it can have no bearing whatsoever on the central government laws that prohibit cruelty to bulls.”

–Dr Manilal Valliyate, Director of Veterinary Affairs, PETA India. Dr Valliyate has personally witnessed jallikattu events and has nearly two decades of veterinary experience working with cattle and other large animals.