While one group of organisers and bull raisers met the district collector in Madurai U Sagayam with a plea to allow jallikattu without any hindrance, another group from 12 southern and central districts met in Trichy and decided to approach the Centre with a memorandum.
"All our members are furious over the notification issued by the Union environment ministry in July this year, banning performances of animals, including bulls in public places. We have decided to approach the minister and request her to remove bulls from the list of performing animals. We will go to New Delhi next week to meet her," said P Rajasekaran, president of Madurai-based Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Pathukappu Peravai. About 2000 bull owners from Madurai, Sivaganga, Pudukottai, Trichy and adjoining districts participated in the meeting.
The notification also warns of severe penalty if anyone is found to violate the ban. "Bull is a domestic animal. In villages, we feed the bulls first and then only have our food. When a bull dies, we perform all rituals similar to those done on humans before burying. It is irrational to include bulls in the list of animals like lion and bear. The idea behind the notification is only to scuttle jallikattu altogether," Rajasekaran said. Read the full report here.
Source: Times News Network, Madurai.
