News Analysis / Preventing animal cruelty is a duty of the state
Published on: January 04, 2023
Source: The Hindu
Context:
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India will soon deliver its verdict on the validity of Tamil Nadu’s law permitting the practice of jallikattu in the State.
About
About Jallikattu:
A tradition over 2,000 years old, Jallikattu is a competitive sport as well as an event to honour bull owners who rear them for mating.
It is a violent sport in which contestants try to tame a bull for a prize; if they fail, the bull owner wins the prize.
Importance in Tamil Culture:
Jallikattu is considered a traditional way for the peasant community to preserve their pure-breed native bulls.
At a time when cattle breeding is often an artificial process, conservationists and peasants argue that Jallikattu is a way to protect these male animals which are otherwise used only for meat if not for ploughing.
Legal Interventions on Jallikattu:
Current Legal Position on Jallikattu:
The state government has legalized these events, which have been challenged in court.
In 2018, the Supreme Court referred the Jallikattu case to a Constitution Bench, where it is pending now.
Conflict to be Resolved:
Position in Other States for Similar Sports:
Karnataka too passed a law to save a similar sport, called ‘Kambala’.
Except in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where bull-taming and racing continue to be organized, these sports remain banned in all other states including Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Maharashtra due to the 2014 ban order from the Supreme Court.
Animal rights and safety:
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA Act), 1960:
It discusses different forms of cruelty, exceptions, and killing of a suffering animal in case any cruelty has been committed against it, so as to relieve it from further suffering.
This Act provides punishment for causing unnecessary cruelty and suffering to animals. The Act defines animals and different forms of animals.
Shortcomings of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA Act), 1960:
While it criminalizes several types of actions that cause cruelty to animals, it exempts, for example, from its coverage the use of animals for experiments with a view to securing medical advancement.