Even as Kambala, slush race of pairs of buffaloes, is banned in Udupi district, the sporting event involving the animals can go on in Dakshina Kannada as usual, according to Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim.
Mr. Ibrahim told The Hindu here on Tuesday that there was no ban. He has neither received any order from the State government on banning it nor was there any communication received in this regard from the Animal Welfare Board of India.
To a question, Mr. Ibrahim said that there was no mention of Kambala in the Supreme Court regarding Jallikattu and “I cannot make an interpretation and ban Kambala,” he said.
Mr. Ibrahim did not agree with the view of the animal welfare activists that the very act of making buffaloes run amounted to cruelty to them. “It is their interpretation,” he said.
On Sunday, Deputy Director, Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Mangaluru, Thippeswamy, had said, “We will have to ban the sport and any other tradition that involves using animals as entertainment. Allowing this would amount to contempt of court and violation of the Supreme Court order.”
The same day, Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra maintained that no decision had been taken yet on the issue, while Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader said that the government would ensure that Kambala events are restored next year.
Meanwhile, the organisers who have offered to modify Kambala, have argued that the practice is rooted in tradition and said that they could showcase it for the Animal Welfare Board of India. Suma R. Nayak, trustee of the city-based Animal Care Trust, said that it could not be continued under the pretext that it is a tradition.
Customs that are against public policy and law have to be done away with, she said.
The Supreme Court had, in its May 7 order, said that “Bulls cannot be used as performing animals, either for the Jallikattu events or bullock-cart races in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or elsewhere.”
