Representing the breeders of renowned Kangayam cattle, the Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation (SKCRF) has made a representation to the Prime Minister seeking steps to file a review petition in Supreme Court for lifting the ban on jallikattu .
“People who wanted the ban on jallikattu are far removed from the village life and not aware of the importance of jallikattu in maintaining the natural biodiversity of the native livestocks like Kangayam cattle. The sport also provides a bond between cattle and agriculturists,” K. S.M. Karthikeya, a prominent Kangayam cattle conservationist and managing trustee of the SKCRF, told The Hindu .
Traditional sport
He pointed out that the traditional sport like jallikattu provides an encouragement to the breeders of native livestock species like Kangayam cattle since the sturdy bull of that variety in the respective villages was used for the sport.
“Without which, the small scale farmers usually rear cows not the bulls. So rearing of cows alone will affect the breeding and the population of species like Kangayam cattle can dwindle further,” he added.
The Kangayam cattle breeders were of the view that traditionally there was no torture of the animal during the jallikattu unlike in the bull sports seen in countries like Spain.
“The duration of a bull engaging in jallikattu will be around 30 seconds,” they said adding that instead of ban, rules could be laid down for the safety of animals and men, if required.
Since the country is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the bio-cultural activities like jallikattu should be encouraged as per the provisions of the said convention, Mr. Karthikeya said.
