Animal welfare bodies, led by the city-based Blue Cross of India, welcomed the Supreme Court judgment on Wednesday banning the use of bulls in ‘Jallikattu,’ a traditional bull-taming festival of Tamil Nadu, and other forms of entertainment.
The judgment “… will go down in the history of India as a landmark verdict by the Supreme Court to ban the use of bulls for entertainment,” said Nanditha Krishna, governing-body member of Blue Cross and environment activist, who has been working over the years for humane treatment of animals. The ban will be applicable to Rekla (bullock cart) and horse-and-bull races too, among many.
Commending those who worked for years to achieve this verdict, including the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), Ms. Krishna, in her statement, thanked former Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh for “banning the use of bulls as performing animals in 2011.” But then, the Tamil Nadu government sought to permit ‘Jallikattu’ through the Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Regulation Act, 2009. Earlier this year, the Environment Ministry withdrew its own Gazette notification through an affidavit in the Supreme Court.
“The AWBI, to its credit, refused to go along and fought the Tamil Nadu government, the ‘Jallikattu’ Federation and the Ministry of Environment and Forest’s stand in the Supreme Court. By its historic verdict, the court has vindicated Mr. Jairam Ramesh’s position and upheld the ban,” Ms. Krishna said.
