PETA to challenge Tamil Nadu’s jallikattu law

However, the body has not yet decided on whether it will challenge the state Assembly legislations separately or together. “We will challenge the legislations in the Supreme Court. We will do it in the next few days. We are consulting our lawyers on whether to challenge both the state laws together or separately,” Manilal Valliyate, Director of Veterinary Affairs at PETA India said. On January 31, the Apex Court had refused to stay the new legislation while hearing the petitions of a number of animal welfare bodies. However, it had permitted the associations to amend their pending petitions for challenging the law. 

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on January 23 unanimously passed the bill amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PAC) 1960 ‘to preserve the cultural heritage of the state and ensure the survival and well-being of native breeds’ thereby ensuring a problem-free jallikattu.

Titled Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act 2017, the new bill amended Section 2 of PCA and inserted ‘jallikattu means an event involving bulls conducted to follow tradition and culture from January to May and in such places as may be notified by the State government and includes manjuviratu , vadamadu and eruduvidumvizha.

Similarly, the Karnataka Assembly on February 13 legalised kambala, bull runs and bullock cart races by terming them traditional sports and exempted them from the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.