Supreme Court stays Centre’s notification lifting ban on controversial bull taming sport ‘Jallikattu’
The Supreme Court today stayed the Centre’s notification lifting ban on controversial bull taming sport Jallikattu
The court rejected the plea of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Tamil Nadu that Jallikattu is part of the ancient tradition and culture and should not be stopped as there were enough safeguards provided.
The four-year-old ban on holding of Jallikattu was lifted by the Centre in poll-bound Tamil Nadu with certain restrictions recently.
What is Jallikattu?
“Jallikattu” is a cattle/ bull taming tradition played in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebration.
This is one of the oldest living ancient sport seen in the modern era.
It is held in the villages of Tamil Nadu as a part of the village festival. The festivals are held from January to July, every year.
The sport results in major injuries and deaths with over human 200 deaths over the past two decades.
Animal activists and PETA India has protested against the sport over the years for animal cruelty.
How did Jallikattu ban ?
On November 27, 2010 the Supreme Court in accordance with the law enacted on the regulation of events, permitted the Tamil Nadu government to allow jallikattu for five months in a year from January 15.
The court also directed the District Collectors to make sure that the animals that participate in jallikattu are registered to the Animal Welfare Board and in return the Board would send its representative to monitor over the event.
The state government ordered that two lakhs be deposited by the organizers for the benefit of the victims which also includes the victim’s family, in case of an accident or injury during the event.
The government also enacted a rule to allow a team of veterinarians would be present at the venue for testing and certifying the bulls for participation in the event to provide treatment for bulls that get injured.
The Animal Welfare Board of India took the case to the Supreme Court for an outright ban on jallikattu because of the cruelty to animals and the threat to public safety involved.
The Supreme Court of India banned jallikattu bull fights on May 7th, 2014.
The court struck down a 2011 Tamil Nadu law regulating the conduct of Jallikattu and the judges also asked the center to amend the law on preventing cruelty to animals to bring bulls within its ambit.
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