The recent decision of Goa government to reconsider the issue of bullfighting in the state has made the animal activist annoyed and they have strongly opposed the attempts made by the “Dhirio” lovers and threatened them of moving to Apex Court against this cruel act. Recently some MLAs have promised their support to the “Dhirio” lovers in the state assuring them of restarting the bullfights in the state. Even the Chief Minister did not left behind in this by hinting the consideration of the demand.
The entire process started taking shape after the union minister for environment and forests Prakash Javadekar told the media that government is reconsidering the bullfight sport and there is possibility of amendment in the law to allow Jallikattu (a popular bullfighting sport in Tamil Nadu) which was banned by the Supreme Court. This was followed by the Goan MLAs assuring their support to the bullfight lovers under the name of Cultural Sports of Goa made the Animal Lovers angry. While talking to the media Gaurav Yadav, coordinator of Gau Gyan Foundation said that Dhirios only amount to the cruelty against the animals as every year numbers of bulls get seriously injured and some even die due to the injuries. He also pointed out that the horns are sharpened to an extent that even the mild brush can lead to grievous injuries. He appealed to the state government to enforce the high court ban on Dhirios in the state.
According to Yadav supporting the Dhirios just because it has been into practice for hundreds of years will amount to the act of supporting the traditional barbaric practice such as child marriages which was outlawed in our country. He further said that it will be against the law to support the Dhirios by government of Goa as the decision of the high court which was imposed in 1997 still prevails. “We will move appropriate forum to seek interim order to stop bullfights. If required we will also file petition before the Supreme Court,” he added.
The founder member of another NGO Welfare for Animals in Goa said that pushing the animals into such act of fighting is an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act. 1960 and the government cannot blindly legalize such activities that has been banned by the high court. Countering the claims of the bull owners that bulls are revered through the sport, Sarin said “In fact last year we had rescued four injured calves from Anjuna who were pushed into illegal bullfight. It has been observed that owners after finding that the bulls are unproductive and unfit abandon them on roads or sell them for slaughtering.”
He also suggested the government of Goa to come out with plans for the stray cattle management which have abandoned by their owners which creates the problems for the motorists on the road instead of promoting such act of cruelty against the animals.
Source: NT
