Several bull owners from south Tamil Nadu are in Delhi awaiting the Friday verdict of the Supreme Court, which would decide the fate of Jallikattu, the famous bull-taming sport of the state.

The Animal Welfare Board had filed a Special Leave Petition in July 2007, seeking a ban on the sport, alleging that the “bulls were subjected to enormous cruelty before and during the sport”. In its petition, the Board said the bulls were made to drink arrack (alcohol) and their eyes rubbed with chilli powder just before the event to make them ferocious.

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court stayed the operation of a High Court order, that had permitted the sport, but with some restrictions, including capping of the horns of the bulls, directing a team of veterinarians “to screen” the animals before the event and erection of double barricades to protect spectators. Scores of people, including young bull tamers, were either killed or injured during the bloody sport played in village squares and roads every year.

Representing the Tamizhaga Veeravilayaatu Kuzhu (Committee for the valiant sport of Tamil Nadu), at least 10 affluent bull owners from the southern districts, who have impleaded in the case, are congregating in Delhi to listen to the verdict which might well take the spirit out of the Pongal season in Tamil Nadu this year.

“This is a sport which has been going on for centuries. How can we stop the event which reflects a culture of Tamil Nadu?” asked T Rajasekaran, president of the committee. The bull owners have threatened to take their bulls in a procession to the Secretariat in Chennai if they were not allowed to go ahead with the sport.

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