The Supreme Court on Friday banned ‘Jallikattu’, a bull taming event organised during the harvest festival of Pongal, in Tamil Nadu.
Turning down the arguments of the Tamil Nadu government, a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, said: “We are not inclined to vacate the stay ordered by the Madras High Court on the event.
Let there be no fight between bulls or taming of the bulls. The game is barbaric and people die during the game. It also involves cruelty to animals.”
Pleading for permission to organise the bull taming festival, the Advocate representing the government said that people were sentimentally attached to the festival and that many foreigners come to watch it.
The court has however allowed ‘Rekla’, the race involving bullock carts and bullock race during the festival, under the supervision of the district authorities. The district administration has been directed to provide security to the public if ‘Rekla’ is organised.
‘Jallikattu’ is a traditional sport associated with the Pongal festival, said to date back to the 3rd Century AD. The sport is usually celebrated in villages near the temple town of Madurai.
Hundreds of bulls are released in an open space and bull fighters try and grab a small bundle of coins tied between the horns of the animals. Several matadors as well as spectators have been killed during ‘Jallikattu’ events. One person was killed and 65 injured in 2007 while five died and more than 100 were hurt in 2005. Following protests, the sport was banned in 2004, before a HC lifted the stay. Animal rights activists later approached a local court in Tamil Nadu in 2007 seeking a ban on the tradition.
The Animal Welfare Board of India claims that bulls are given arrack and their eyes smeared with chilli powder to make them ferocious before the sport. It also charged that horns of the bulls are capped.