CHENNAI:Making use of her luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa urged him to facilitate the conduct of Jallikattu, the famed bull taming sport held during Pongal. The Supreme Court had banned the conduct of the sport citing that the bull was classified as a non-performing animal.
Therefore, Jayalalithaa in her memorandum suggested that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests could denotify bulls from the list of performing animals, within the legal ambit to enable the lifting of the ban on jallikattu. She also called for suitable amendments in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 by introducing a new clause specifically exempting Jallikattu along with other exemptions already provided in the Act.
“Jallikattu is deeply ingrained as part of the cultural tradition of Tamil Nadu as a sport popular among warriors since the Sangam era and this 2000-year- old traditional sport finds a mention in the ancient Tamil text Silapathigaram. It is inextricably linked to rural, agrarian customs and has religious significance, with families donating bulls to temples in fulfillment of vows,” she argued.