Jallikattu Is Bull****, Say PETA Activists

Led by a costumed “bull” in a wheelchair, PETA activists took to the Embassy of India today with signs that read, “Save India’s Reputation: End Jallikattu”, in English, Tamil and Hindi. They were urging the Indian government not to exempt the state of Tamil Nadu from the national ban against using bulls as performing animals. Tamil Nadu currently has permission to continue jallikattu, a cruel and dangerous “sport” in which terrified bulls are kicked, punched, jumped on and dragged to the ground – and in which human participants are often injured and even killed.

“Exempting jallikattu from India’s laws is a black mark on India’s reputation”, says PETA India’s Poorva Joshipura. “These events are illegal – they violate the ban on using bulls in ‘entertainment’ and are completely against the spirit of India’s animal-protection laws, which prohibit beating, kicking and torturing animals.”

Similar protests will take place around the world this week before the Madras High Court reconsiders the exemption for jallikatu on 30 January.

In jallikattu, bundles of money or other prizes are tied to the horns of a bull, who tries to escape as villagers chase him. PETA India’s investigation into five jallikattu events in 2011 revealed that the terrified bulls are painfully dragged by nose ropes, surrounded by mobs of taunting people who send the animals into a frenzy, goaded with sticks and pushed and wrestled to the ground. Last year, hundreds of human participants were injured, and many were killed. In one four-day period last January, 215 people sustained injuries during jallikattu events, 154 of whom were spectators. Two people died.

While you may not have been able to attend the demonstration, you can still have your say by e-mailing the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests and asking them to put an end to this cruelty.