Annual Bullfights Banned in Indian State
Date: 30-Jul-07
Country: INDIA
In past years, both the fighters and the especially muscular wild bulls would often be pepped up with large amounts country liquor before dashing after each other in the streets to mark Pongal, the harvest festival celebrated every January.
But India's Animal Welfare Board successfully petitioned India's highest court to ban the ancient sport of jallikattu, saying it was cruel and not in keeping with what it described as the country's non-violent traditions.
Unlike the Spanish version of the sport, the aim is not to kill the bulls but to dominate and tame them, and pluck away bundles of money or other treats tied to their specially sharpened horns.
Men beat the animals and throw burning chilli powder in their eyes, ears and mouth to enrage them, the Animal Welfare Board said.
Fighters and spectators have been gored or trampled to death, and the number of injured fighters has often run into the hundreds. The festival has been marketed as a tourist attraction in recent years.
