As with the other writing on ‘The Voice of Stray Dogs’, unless otherwise specified the writing expresses the opinion of The Voice of Stray Dogs, and not necessarily that of individual VoSD Board members since individual comment/ contribution and consent is neither sought nor received. Here we examine whether this could it be Tamilnadu politics or just the sheer incompetence of the AWBI management, or both, that in case after case AWBI either fails to represent the animals adequalty or in case such as Kashmir and Punjab, fails to represents the animals at all!
In a shocking reversal that occurred on the 4th of July, 2012, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh has allowed bullock cart races, and held that they can take place at the Kila Raipur Rural Olympics that are held in Punjab in the month of February.
Bull with injured eye dragged in to entry point in Jallikattu, Tamilnadu
While allowing 3 writ petitions filed for the purpose, the Court has has held that since the viewing public are admitted to this event without the sale of tickets, the animals participating in these races are Not performing animals. Therefore the notification issued by the Central Government on the 11th of July, 2011 under Section 22 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, banning the use of bulls as performing animals, will not apply at all, to the Kila Raipur Sports Festival! The Court has then proceeded to quash the order dated 2nd February, 2012, passed by the Deputy Director, Department of Animal Husbandry, Ludhiana, and the order dated 10th February, 2012, passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, vide which these officials had refused to allow bullock cart racing to take place at the Kila Raipur Olympics held earlier this year.
This order passed by the Punjab High Court is completely contrary to another order passed earlier this year by a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court, upholding the ban on bullock cart races across the State of Maharasthtra. You can read The Voice of Stray Dogs’s report on this order here (Facebook login necessary)
Unfortunately, the Counsel representing the Union of India, i.e. the Centre who was present in Court (since the Union of India was a respondent in the writ petitions) seems not to have informed the Court regarding the earlier order passed by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court, upholding the bullock cart racing ban. In any event, the Centre seems to be doing precious little for the bulls, and little to uphold its own Notification dated 11th July, 2011, as their attitude towards the jallikattu litigation pending at the High Court at Madurai will reveal.
What is even more shocking than the Centre’s attitude is the fact, that the most important respondent in this sort of case, i.e. the Animal Welfare Board of India, was not even present in Court when this matter was take up for hearing !
A reading of the order makes it clear that the animals were not represented when an order so horribly against their interests, was passed by the Court.
