Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday, May 18, 2023, welcomed the Supreme Court’s judgment upholding the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules, 2017, saying the traditional bull-taming sport ‘jallikattu’ has been going on in Tamil Nadu for the last century.
In a social media post, Mr. Stalin said the judgment was to be written in golden letters in the history of Tamil Nadu. He said the verdict was a huge victory for the legal struggle undertaken by the government. Pointing out that a big jallikattu arena was being constructed in Madurai, he said a victory celebration would be held during Pongal in January next.
EPS, OPS react
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami welcomed the verdict and recalled the resolution adopted in the Assembly in favour of jallikattu during the erstwhile AIADMK government. He also recalled the efforts made by former Minister C. Vijayabaskar in this regard.
Expelled AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam also welcomed the verdict and said it was a victory for Tamil Nadu’s culture. MDMK founder Vaiko hailed the ruling as a victory for the culture of the State and said it was a historic judgment.
However, Bharati Ramachandran, CEO, Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), said the judgment was a big setback to animals and those fighting for animal rights.
“More than a 100 people and over 20 bulls have died since 2017, when Tamil Nadu restarted jallikattu. How many more deaths will it take for the law to put an end to it? The view that jallikattu is part of Tamil culture is a debatable one,” a press release quoted her as saying.
Published - May 18, 2023 11:38 pm IST
