Argument 1.

The "Its the Tradition" Argument : The history behind the tradition is
understandable. But is it suited to our modern times?. A lot of things like Sati, female
infanticide, Manusmriti were based on tradition. Why not follow them now?.
So its a different law for humans and the same law for animals??
Argument 2. The "Specific breed" argument: These arguments say that : Its only a
specific breed of bulls which are used for this.Those bulls are meant for this.Without this
they will die
This is like saying: certain castes (like Dalits) are meant for manual scavenging and giving
them education cannot be of any use.
I say- Is giving narcotics and alcohols and subjecting them to all sorts of "tests" good for
the Bulls?.
Bulls can still be used to plough farmlands, pull carts and produce. The manure can still be
used as a fertilizer. You need not turn to modern equipment every time, should you?. Bulls
can be saved from extinction in more other ways. Why this sport?
Argument 3. Only humans die, the Bulls survive: So human life has become cheap
now. This is like deliberately encouraging murder:-if you ask me. Both for the Bull and the
person who 'tames' it.
Where are the human-rights activists??.
Argument 4: What do the PETA people know about Tamil culture? .
They may be ignorant of Tamil customs. But they do know the consequences of giving liquor
to animals and subjecting them to 'tests'. Tamil Nadu is not the only place where bulls are
used, is it?.
Argument 5: 'Others do it too' argument
Yes, all forms of sports like cock-fighting, pigeon-fighting, ill-treating of elephants during
circus must also be looked into. If the SC passes another order tomorrow regarding these
sports: then I would support that also.
Argument 6: Even cricket and football is business
They dont involve some innocent animal. Atleast humans bet on it , but its your money (and
funeral). No animal is used for their profit.

Jallikattu- can it be allowed? Yes , but not as such.

Lets look into some arguments and their counters,
1. Jallikattu is a traditional sport and no cruelty is involved.
Of course it is traditional, and based on the customs and culture of Tamil people. But what
about the state of bulls who are subjected to cruelty. Let's not blindly deny the fact that no
cruelty is involved. Bulls didn't stand in queue and ran towards us for us to catch. The video
circulated by PETA clearly shows bulls being cornered, alcohol fed, biting tails, some chased
like mad dogs and got fractured legs. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... ]
Counter argument goes like this- What about beef, cattle transportation, horse race. Aren't
they cruel?
Yes they are also cruel, but this doesn't mean one cruelty has to be used as an excuse for
other cruelty.
Cow slaughter in India is banned or regulated in 24 out of 29 states. We don't have any right
to say PETA to go ban them first and then come to Jallikattu issue. Lets not waste time,
energy and data packs for putting some useless meme for that. If we find cow slaughter is
against animal rights, against Article 48 of our constitution, then we can very well file a PIL
in Supreme court or High court. . So lets not portray cow slaughter as more cruel than
jallikattu and then argue for allowing jallikattu.
Animal transportation rules dated 22nd Sep 2009, clearly lays out the necessary conditions
for vehicles in which animals are to be transported, For eg: a cattle weighing more than
200kg is required to be put up in 1 sq.m area and that too with permanent partition.
[http://www.awbi.org//Transport%20of%20Animals%20(Amendment ] So if any
animal is transported in a congested and cruel way, it is violation of law, its not that
government has blindly allowed it to happen.
Same thing applies to horse racing, one can very well file PIL (free of cost). PETA has said
this as an issue alone and didn't take it up to the court. Double standards. May be? Let's not
again dictate them.[http://www.peta.org//animals-in-entertainment/horse-racing/ ]
2. If jallikattu is banned, foreign corporate companies will dominate Indian
milk Industry.
I read about the A1 and A2 milk and how nutritious and healthy our Indian breed's milk are.
[ http://www.cowpedia.in/a1-vs-a2-cows-milk-benefits-side-ef/ ] Here the reason put

forward by Jallikattu enthusiasts is that without jallikattu, raising bulls become

uneconomical hence allow jallikattu. Since economical aspect is taken into account, I'll
consider bull as a raw material. So the cost of raising the bull can be included in the finished
product as cost of raw material. Here the finished product is the milk obtained from cows.
So money flow will take place like this. From consumer to milk man( who has cow) to bull
owner ( who raises cow). This is just a rough assessment. People in this field can give a
detailed analysis as to how much the cost of milk may increase.
3. Bulls are part of our family and therefore cruelty is not possible.
In the Supreme court hearing dated Jan 14th 2016 , advocate N. Rajaraman who spoke for
the rural farmers said people rear bulls like children and brothers and also warned that
the prohibition would only force farmers now to send their bulls to Kerala to be slaughtered.
For which Justice Misra asked: You say you treat these bulls like family members. So now
the bull has no purpose, you send them to Kerala for slaughter?
[http://www.thehindu.com//supreme-court-/article8102180.ece ]
Sending family member to be slaughtered. How come this happens then? In fact when SC
banned the sport on May 8th, 2014 bull raisers got frustrated and finally after pongal on
January 2015, when they confirmed that jallikattu ban was not revoked, they decided to
send their bulls to kerala for slaughter. On February 14th 2015 around 200 such bulls which
was to be sent for slaughtering by their owners (so called family members) were saved by
Velliangiri Goshala members and since then kept in a goshala in Narasipuram near
Coimbatore.
[ http://www.thehindu.com//coimbatore-to-/article6894062.ece ]
Where is the bonding of family member here? For them, if bull fetches them prize they will
praise it and earn Rs.2lakh, else they will slaughter it and get Rs. 40000. So for the profit of
Rs. 1 lakh 60 thousand they(not everyone who raised their bull) are asking to allow
jallikattu.
Way Forward
Apart from arguments and counter-arguments, here goes my suggestion as to whether
Jallikattu can be conducted or not. Yes it can, with necessary safeguards. TN govt even came
up with legislation for it and necessary rules [http://www.tniuscbe.org/download...]. Yet
few things are left and can be included for appealing to SC.
1. Accountability- Suppose cruelty is found, who is accountable?, will those people who
supported jallikattu in media and social network will come forward and take the
responsibility and get themselves arrested? Definitely no. So already there is an

organisation called "Tamil nadu Jallikattu Peravai" which can look into accountability issues
and punish and ban people who harm animals.
2. Permanent stadium- where this sport can be conducted each year. With enough safety
for viewers, resting places for bulls, retiring room for players.
3. Safety for players- Vests or any other protective clothing which will protect the players
to be made compulsory, because they have only the right to live, not deliberately go in
harms way and risk their lives.
4. Most importantly safety for animals
Two aspects- mental health and physical health.
The rules provided, consider only drug issue, other aspects of physical injuries and
punishments for person involved are not mentioned. Some rules can be additionally added
here. Cruelty takes place in two phases during the sport, one, when the bull is afraid to come
out and two, after it comes out. For this some rules can be framed:
a. First phase
a1. only the organizers whose names are with the district authority can be allowed to make
bulls pass through and if they are found biting tails, or any such cruelty, stringent actions
can be taken on them.
a2. if the bull despite being pushed doesn't go out, it should not be forced and should be
allowed to go back without participating in sport.
b. Second phase- if there are 100 tamers, then they can be divided into ten slots and each
slot can be in the ground for half an hour. So that in 5 hours all 100 tamers will get equal
chance to show their bravery without overcrowding the ground and without threatening the
bull.
Mental health- here the responsibility lies with the bull raisers and organizers to consult
Dept of Animal Husbandry, TN and find out the mental state of animals before and after the
sport. Of course bulls mental state will be disturbed for those few hours, but the ways to
minimize it can be found and a detailed report can be prepared and submitted during the
appeal.
5. Jallikattu only at specified places
In the video of PETA, it shows bulls being chased indiscriminately in some random field and
they get injured due to the uneven terrain. This should be completely banned.

In a modern society where the laws have moved from anthropocentric to eco-centric it is
also time for us to move with the tide. Traditions, culture are to be followed but should be
adopted for present day consciousness of the society, else they are sure to fade away either
by lawmakers(govt) or law enforcers(courts).