PETA urges Tamil Nadu government to withdraw jallikattu order

On December 23, the state allowed jallikattu to be conducted during the Pongal festival following Covid-19 restrictions.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to withdraw the order to conduct jallikattu (bull taming sport) citing a letter written by 52 doctors from across the country to chief minister Edapaddi Palaniswami and health minister C Vijayabhaskar. The letter calls the sport a non-essential activity which will lead to Covid-19 spread.

PETA stated that since 2017, at least 22 bulls and 57 people have died while 3,632 people were injured during jallikattu events organised across the state. (PTI file photo)

“If huge crowds gather to torment bulls, society will be tormented,” said PETA India research associate Dr Anikta Pandey in a statement.

Incidentally, minister for revenue and disaster management RB Udhayakumar on Thursday said that Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, along with senior ministers, will flag-off a jallikattu event in Madurai’s Alanganallur on January 16. He spoke to reporters after inspecting the location. Activists have called this a political decision as Tamil Nadu goes to assembly polls in April or May this year.

The letter shared by PETA is signed by doctors and healthcare professionals predominantly from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand besides Tamil Nadu, New Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka.

“The highly contagious nature of the disease and the way participants and spectators inevitably come into contact in such mass gatherings, even with precautions planned by the Tamil Nadu government, the risk of infection is high,” the letter from the medical representatives said.

On December 23, the state allowed jallikattu to be conducted during the Pongal festival following Covid-19 restrictions. Participants must undergo an RT-PCR test from government recognised labs and submit a negative certificate. The number of players will be limited to 150 per event. The spectators cannot exceed more than 50% of the capacity of the premises so that social distancing norms are followed and all viewers will have to wear masks. All entrants will be screened using a thermal scanner to check body temperature.

The doctors’ statement warned that a clinical sample which shows a false-negative could be a source of infection. They added that the state which banned public celebrations from December 31, 2020 to January 1, 2021 should apply a similar logic to this event.

In 2017, huge protests erupted across the state for the ban against jallikattu by the Supreme Court to be lifted. The Tamil Nadu government unanimously enacted a legislation to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to “preserve the cultural heritage and ensure the survival and continuance of native breeds of bulls”.

PETA stated that since 2017, at least 22 bulls and 57 people have died while 3,632 people were injured during jallikattu events organised across the state.