In a major step
towards protecting animals from cruelty, the Supreme Court has banned the
popular post-harvest event jallikattu, or bull fights, in Tamil Nadu and
bullock-cart racing in Maharashtra, Punjab and
other states, saying they violated provisions of the 50-year-old Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act. Significantly, the bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan
and P C Ghose favoured constitutional status for rights of animals like
citizens. It said, “Parliament, it is expected, will elevate the rights of
animals to that of constitutional rights, as has been done by many countries
around the world, so as to protect their dignity and honour.” Dismissing as
illegal the Tamil Nadu law allowing jallikattu, the apex court made it clear
that bulls cannot be used as performing animals as it involves causing them
pain.
No comments:
Post a Comment