: PETA India has hit back at the AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala and others targeting it over jallikattu.
In a statement, Nikunj Sharma, Government Affairs Liaison with PETA India, said the NGO does not make law and can only respect law. So, targeting PETA India can have no bearing whatsoever on the Central government laws which have been prohibiting cruel events like jallikattu, bull races and bullfights for years.
“Anyone who claims otherwise is either misleading or demonstrating that they are unaware how laws work,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Followed by DMK leader M.K. Stalin, Ms. Sasikala had also called for a ban on PETA India as protests mount in Tamil Nadu in favour of jallikattu.
Tracing the legal history of the ban on jallikattu leading to the Supreme Court ban on the sport, Mr. Sharma said PETA India was an animal protection organisation that routinely works through the country’s courts and in other ways to help animals. It has petitioned the Supreme Court along with the Animal Welfare Board of India and others.
The courts have time and again held that the use of bulls in performances is and will be illegal under Indian law.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We at PETA India shall remain committed to stand up for animals and all creatures that face brutality and cruelty,” he said.
