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HomeIndiaGovernanceJallikattu continues to be a bloody affair — for humans and bulls

Jallikattu continues to be a bloody affair — for humans and bulls

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Five people lost their lives this year while cruelty to the animals continued unabated, despite the Animal Welfare Board’s guidelines and monitoring teams.

New Delhi: With at least five people reported killed and no end to the cruelty to animals used in the controversial bull-taming sport of Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu in this ongoing Pongal season, questions are being raised about the apparent failure of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to regulate the activity.

Jallikattu was banned by a Supreme Court order in May 2014 but the Tamil Nadu government enacted an ordinance last year to allow it after massive protests in Chennai and other places across the state.

Earlier this month, the AWBI had issued a set of guidelines to ensure that no cruelty was meted out to the bulls. But it has so far been tight-lipped about both the loss of human life and the cruelty to animals.

While S.K. Mittal, convenor of the AWBI team asked to monitor the event, told ThePrint that he was not authorised to speak on the issue, he had earlier dismissed questions regarding the deaths by calling them “small mistakes” and “human errors”.

Cruelty unabated

Animal rights activists in the state say cruelty to the bulls is continuing unabated; there has been no change whatsoever in the way the sport is played in the aftermath of the AWBI guidelines.

“It is irrational to keep doing the same thing and expect different results,” said activist Gauri Maulekhi, pointing to the Jallikattu Regulation Act that was in place before the Supreme Court banned the sport in 2014.

An activist monitoring the event in a personal capacity said a number of instances where bulls were being beaten up to push them into the arena had been documented. “The bulls are scared to enter the arena since they know that over 50-60 people are waiting outside to pounce on them, so they do not move. Participants have been hitting them with sticks that have nails on them to push them,” the activist said.

There is unabated and widespread use of colour and lemons, which are squeezed into the bulls’ eyes, to make them aggressive and run.

The sport, which is hailed as a symbol of Tamil pride, also has a conspicuous caste angle, said another activist. The colour on the animal is supposed to signal which caste can catch it. “If the bull has been smothered with pink colour, for example, it means that only an upper caste participant can catch hold of it,” the activist said.

Bleak outlook

While the AWBI team is expected to file its report on animal cruelty next week, animal rights activists say they expect little to come out of the report put together by who they call “government stooges” and “Jallikattu enthusiasts”.

Last week, the AWBI had stopped two of its representatives – renowned animal rights activists known to be critical of the inspection team leadership – from going to Madurai to observe the events. No official reason was given to the two activists, who were in fact on their way to the state.

At the first meeting of the 10-member inspection team called last week, Mittal is learnt to have said “a little bit of cruelty is alright”, ThePrint had reported.

“Mittal keeps talking about tradition and culture, but one wonders, is he representing the Animal Welfare Board or the Ministry of Culture?” one activist asked.

As a result of the AWBI’s perceived indifference to animal suffering, a number of animal rights groups are monitoring the events in the state in their personal capacity. However, they are maintaining anonymity as many activists are facing death threats from pro-Jallikattu groups.

“We are just waiting for this drama to end, and will speak up in a big way soon,” one of them said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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2 COMMENTS

  1. We want all cruel festival destroy in india ,we want cruelty free india ,,,, they all r soul , they feel pain ,,,pl all slaugbter ,bakribid n all other cruel festival bam ban bn bam ban ban ban ban ban bn , we request our Pm ji we want cruelty free india ,,,,give them respect , ban all cruelty n meat industries

  2. It is surprising that S K. Mittal has managed to become the “convenor “ of the jallikattu inspection team. All animal welfare people are aware of how he handled the inspection of the slaughter houses mandated by the Honble Supreme Court. What he got from the jallikattu lobby can only be guessed

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