Bull-Taming Sport In High Court Ring, But Supporters Vow To Continue

BY P. VIJIAN CHENNAI, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- Staunch promoters of the ancient "jallikattu" (bull taming) in Tamil Nadu are battling it out in an Indian court to rescind a government ban of the bloody sport and vow to host it during the "harvest festival" this Sunday. They urged the Madras High Court to lift the 2011 Ministry of Environment and Forest's notification -- barring bulls as performing animals -- but die-hard supports are in no mood to listen. "They are our bulls, our farmers and our land, we will definitely host it this "ponggal" (harvest festival). The sport has been in this state for centuries," P. Rajasekaran, president of the Madurai Jallikattu organisation told Bernama Wednesday. The bull taming sport is an emotive issue in the southern state, sometimes even blown into a sensitive political debate across Tamil Nadu, which hosts it during traditional festivals starting January. But in recent years, Indian animal rights activists started lobbying to end the sport due to cruelty to animals -- as helpless bulls are often roughed up by macho "matadors", witnessed by largely villagers. "They (activists) accused us of sprinkling curry powder on bulls' eyes to arouse anger and feeding bulls with alcohol, but the Supreme Court did not find any truth to these claims. "Veterinary doctors are present to examine the bulls before they enter the ring and in the last four years, there have been no major cases of injury to bulls," added Rajasekaran. Over 10,000 specially-groomed and trained bulls are expected to take part, mostly in villages, during this season. Even Bollywood flamboyant actor John Abraham has joined pressure groups to ban the sport that has remained an integral part of Tamil culture. The High Court is expected to announce its decision on Thursday. -- BERNAMA