The Gauhati high court on Tuesday ordered a ban on buffalo and bulbul fights in the state, striking down a standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the Assam government last year permitting such events.
The order issued by Justice Devashis Baruah, in response to petitions filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), quashed the Assam government SOP dated 27 December 2023, which had allowed buffalo and bulbul bird fights during the Magh Bihu celebrations in January.
According to a PETA release, the organisation had submitted investigations into these fights in their petitions that revealed that terrified and severely injured buffaloes were forced to fight through beatings, and starved and intoxicated bulbuls were made to fight over food.
PETA India submitted numerous examples of fights being held illegally, outside the dates allowed via the SOP, arguing that permitting the fights at any time of the year was resulting in enormous animal abuse.
The petition pointed out that the buffalo and bulbul fights violate the Constitution, The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and judgements of the Supreme Court of India, including in ‘Animal Welfare Board of India vs A Nagaraja’.
{{/usCountry}}The petition pointed out that the buffalo and bulbul fights violate the Constitution, The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and judgements of the Supreme Court of India, including in ‘Animal Welfare Board of India vs A Nagaraja’.
{{/usCountry}}Buffalo fights, called ‘Moh-Juj’ in Assamese, are popular in several parts of the state and held during the Magh Bihu celebrations in mid-January every year. In 2016, the Supreme Court had ordered a ban on animal fights in religious and cultural festivals across the country.
In December last year, the state cabinet had approved an SOP to allow traditional buffalo and bull fights to be organised during Magh Bihu at Ahatguri in Marigaon district, Nagaon district or in any other part of Assam.
The SOP was aimed at ensuring no deliberate torture or cruelty is carried out on the animals and their well-being is provided for by the organisers during the Moh-Juj festival, an integral part of the centuries-old Assamese cultural tradition.
Despite the SC ban, buffalo fights on a smaller scale have been held in past years at the Lakshmi Nath Bezbaruah Kshetra in Ahatguri, located 90km east of Guwahati, the most famous spot for the event, and at other locations in a much scaled down manner in comparison to earlier times.