While the conundrum on Jallikattu increases and the judgment of the Supreme Court is still awaited, People for Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) said on Monday that it will study the Ordinance which the Tamil Nadu Government promulgated “to circumvent the 2014 Supreme Court ban on the traditional and popular bull-taming sport”.
In her reaction to the Tamil Nadu Ordinance on the sport, PETA CEO, Apoorva Joshipura said, cruelty to animals, children, the elderly, and others is morally repugnant. Mahatma Gandhi had once said that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
What, then, do images of men pouncing on a frightened bull and bulls - sometimes liquored up, their tails deliberately broken and their eyes full of chilli peppers - trying to flee their tormentors say about our nation, she asked. PETA India believes that one day, all blood sports worldwide will be relegated to the history books, even if that day is not today, she said.
Veteran actor Kamal Haasan and several other Tamil stars have lashed out at PETA for its opposition to the event which is largely considered, an integral part of Tamil culture. "PETA go ban bull riding rodeos in Mr. Trump's US. You're not qualified to tackle our bulls. Empires have been made to quit India (sic)," Haasan tweeted.
Joshipura responded to Haasan's tweet on Monday saying, "PETA India is an Indian organisation, and animal protection groups like PETA US that operated in the United States do work to stop cruelty to bulls and other animals in their country."