Explained: Why is Jallikattu so controversial? Which other countries have faced flak for bull festivals?

 The Supreme Court has upheld the law allowing the bull-taming sport of ‘Jallikattu’ in Tamil Nadu. The five-judge Constitution bench comprising justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging laws in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws “Jallikattu” and bullock-cart races. But what is Jallikattu? And why is it so controversial? And what are some other bull festivals around the world? Let’s take a closer look: What is it? According to ClearIAS.com, the sport is held on the third day of the Pongal harvest festival. Jallikattu is also called eru thazhuvuthal or manju virattu. According to Deccan Chronicle, Jallikattu was first held sometime between the 1st and 4th Century BC – an era known as the Tamil classical period. [caption id=“attachment_12616362” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption] The world itself comes from the words ‘calli’ (coins) and ‘kattu’ (tie) – that is a bundle of coins tied to the horns of the bull, as per ClearIas.com

In ancient times, the bull tamer would attempt to remove this from the animal’s head.

If successful, his bravery would be heralded and he would sometimes also win a bride. These days, the bull-taming sport occurs in an arena, as per Indian Express. The goal of the sport, usually played by young men in their 20s, is to tame the animal using just your bare hands. Proponents of Jallikatu say it is part of Tamil identity and culture. Those that breed bulls for the sport say they spend vast amounts of money on them and treat them ‘like their own children,’ as per Indian Express. Why is it so controversial? The sport has taken flak from animal rights activists for its treatment of bulls. According to Deccan Chronicle, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Federation of India Animal Protection Agencies (FIAPA) have been calling for the sport to be banned since 2004.

Some critics liken the sport to other cultural practices that are now looked upon as inappropriate.

As Supreme Court lawyer Anjali Sharma told The Guardian, “There are many alleged cultural practices which have been outlawed by courts. Sharma, a member of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), added, “For instance, child marriage has been outlawed. Sati is not permitted by the law. We have a constitution, and all laws have to adhere to its norms.” [caption id=“attachment_12616242” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Critics have long argued that the sport mistreats bulls and is a danger to the lives of participants and bystanders alike[/caption] Sharma said observers appointed by courts had recorded bulls being plied with alcohol or even had chilli powder flung in their faces. “Legally an animal cannot be forced to do something that does not come naturally to it,” she added. “Horses enjoy running; bulls do not. They are draught and pack animals, that are largely peaceful, and to get them to run you have to goad them. That can only be done by prodding it, poking it, twisting its tail or administering alcohol.” Nikunj Sharma of PETA India said the event leads to deaths for both people and the bulls. “Our major focus is to make people aware that these games are not just cruel for animals but they are also cruel for humans,” Sharma said. But others disagree. “Jallikattu and bulls are like God to us,” said M Jayakumar, who was taking part in an event in the village of Allanganallur. “Even if we get injured while performing the sport we make sure not to harm the bulls.” Another cause for concern is the number of deaths resulting from the sport – and not just to the tamers. Bulls often gore bystanders as they to escape through the crowded areas. According to The Guardian, at least 1,100 people have been killed in the sport since 2010. The Animal Welfare Board says at least 43 people died and thousands more injured between 2008 and 2014, as per The Hindu. The non-profit Elsa Foundation has pegged the number of deaths since 2017 at 102 people and 20 bulls, as per The Times of India. These include  81 spectators and passers-by, 21 bull tamers and ‘a large number’ of schoolchildren. Jallikattu and the courts According to BBC, the practice was first banned in 2006 by the Madras High Court. This decision came after the death of a spectator. The ban on Jallikattu was then overturned in 2009 after the state passed the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act. The AWBI and PETA then filed a case in the Supreme Court seeking to strike down the Act after they said the animals were being treated cruelly under the definition of the  Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. [caption id=“attachment_12615172” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Supreme Court of India has upheld the Tamil Nadu law allowing Jallikattu[/caption] The two-just bench of the Supreme Court in 2014 then struck down the 2009 Act in the Animal Welfare Board of India vs A. Nagaraja case saying the animals were being ‘tortured to the hilt’.

In 2017, a massive protest against the ban on Jallikattu erupted after the death of J Jayalalithaa.

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Protesters took to Marina Beach in numbers to demand that the state and Central governments bring in legislation to overturn the ban on the practice. The Tamil Nadu governor and legislature, responding to the public outcry, then passed an ordinance and bill allowing Jallikattu. The Supreme Court in February 2018 under then chief justice Dipak Mishra then referred the matter to a five-judge Constitution Bench. Misra and Justice RF Nariman said the petitions challenging the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, needed to be decided by a larger bench since they involved substantial questions relating to the interpretation of the Constitution. The five-judge bench on Thursday upheld the law allowing Jallikattu in the state. According to Indian Express, the bench said while the 2017 amendments were ‘valid legislations’, the issue of Jallikattu itself was debatable. The bench the judiciary cannot undertake such an exercise as it needs to examine social and cultural analysis in greater detail. The bench added that the decision must ultimately taken by the Lok Sabha, as per Indian Express. Jallikattu isn’t the only bull festival around the world. Other bull festivals around the world Spain Spain has a number of such festivals with its best known in the Sam Fermin Festival in Pamplona. [caption id=“attachment_12616292” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Participants running through the narrow lanes trying to steer clear of the bulls. AFP[/caption] The Running of the Bulls takes place every year in the second week of July at 8 am, as per Time Magazine. The race, which features six bulls and hundreds of people, lasts around half a mile with many running after the bulls, besides them or even in front of them. It ends at Pamplona’s bullring where the animals are slaughtered by bullfighters. The festival, which was featured in Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” sees tens of thousands of visitors come to Pamplona from all over the world.

The adrenaline rush of the morning bull run is followed by partying throughout the day and night.

Eight people were gored in 2019, the last festival before a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixteen people have died in Pamplona’s bull runs since 1910, with the last death in 2009. Much like Jallikattu, the Running of the Bulls has taken flak for its cruelty to animals and the risks to those that participate as well as spectators. In Valencia and in southern parts of neighboring Catalonia, such events are hugely popular and few are the villages that don’t put on some sort of entertainment involving bulls barreling through the streets. There are also “bous a la mar,” races to the seafront where at the end of the run, the participants vie to try and make the bulls fall into the water, most ending up there themselves. Experts are divided about when the practice of running the bulls began but Cuellar, a town some 150 kilometers north of Madrid, claims to have historical records dating back to the 13th Century. And although the exact origin of the tradition is unclear, it is thought to be emerged out of the need to bring bulls from the countryside into the towns on market day when they would be corralled through the streets with sticks. Animal welfare associations in Spain have published a manifesto calling for a ban on the practice which describes bull-running events as “torture dressed up as culture and tradition” in which “abuse is more than evident.” Such spectacles often involve “these noble animals” being beaten with sticks, kicked, jerked around, insulted, humiliated and subjected to stress, it states. And the runners “are often drunk or under the influence of drugs, with many also injured.” So far, the petition has garnered some 5,500 signatures. France According to The Guardian, the sport has been popular in certain areas of Southern France for the past 150 years. The Bayonne Festival in southern France attracts around 1 million people for its annual five-day gala, which features a range of events from bull fighting and live music to games for children and fireworks. [caption id=“attachment_12616332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] French matador Thomas Dufau performs during a bullfight at Marcel Dangou arena in Bayonne during the festival of Bayonne, southwestern France. AFP[/caption] According to France-Voyage.com, Nimes, home to one of France’s most famous bullfighting events, has held a week-long festival every year since 1962. While France has a law against torturing and mistreating animals, exceptions have been made to cities including Bayonne and the medieval jewel of Mont-de-Marsan in southwest France near Spain, where the practice has its origins, and along the Mediterranean coast including Arles, Beziers and Nimes. For years, critics have sought a final legal blow against what they call a cruel and archaic ritual, but none of the draft bills presented have ever been approved for debate by National Assembly lawmakers. “I think the majority of French people share the view that bullfights are immoral, a spectacle that no longer has its place in the 21st century,” said Aymeric Caron, a popular former TV journalist and animal rights activist who was recently elected to parliament as part of the hard-left France Unbowed party. For Caron, “it’s not a French tradition,  it’s a Spanish custom that was imported to France in the 19th century to please the wife of Napoleon III, who was from Andalusia,” the countess Eugenie de Montijo. A 2022 Ifop pollr found that 77 per cent of respondents approved of a ban on bullfighting, up from 50 per cent in 2007. “More and more people are concerned about animal suffering, including in bullfights,” Claire Starozinski of the Anti-Bullfighting Alliance told AFP, adding that many people don’t realise that the bulls are actually killed. But French courts have also routinely rejected lawsuits lodged by animal rights activists, most recently in July 2021 in Nimes. Ecuador According to LatinPost.com, Ecuador hosts bullfighting in its capital city Quito in November every year. The festival, known as Fiestas de Quito, lasts a week, and marks the city’s founding in 1960. However, the sport is less popular outside Quito, as per The Guardian. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.