Following the death of two persons, who were gored by a bull at a bull-taming competition in Tallur village in Soraba taluk of Shivamogga district on Monday, the district administration has decided to enforce a blanket ban on such events.
Deputy Commissioner M. Lokesh told The Hindu that Jallikattu and Kambala had been banned as per the direction of the court on the grounds that animals were subjected to cruelty in such events.
As the bull-taming event shares strong similarities with Jallikattu and animals are subjected to cruelty here, organising it is against the law. Even injuries to spectators are also reported regularly.
The district administration will direct tahsildars and police to initiate stern action against persons who organise bull-taming competitions, Mr. Lokesh said.
Meanwhile, the police arrested nine persons — Siddappa, Mallikarjuna, Manjunatha, Hanumanthappa, Satish, Huchappa, Hanumesh, Dhananjay and Kotresh — for organising the event in Tallur village.
Cases were booked under section 304A (causing death due to negligence) of IPC and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rule.
Superintendent of Police Abhinav Khare said there was huge turnout for the event in Tallur and the organisers had failed to ensure the safety of the spectators and animals.
Prima facie , the local police had failed in preventing the organisers from conducting the event. The local police had not intimated the higher officers on the event. The Deputy Superintendent of Police of Shikaripur has been directed to probe into this, he said.
The mishap in Tallur village is not a stray incident, as casualties are reported regularly in bull-taming events held in Shivamogga, Haveri and Davangere districts during the harvest season.
Bull taming had become a money spinner as firms involved in the business of fast-moving consumer goods, seeds and fertilizers sponsoring them.