Chennai: “The board has asked the state government to notify the locations where jallikattu will be held where a team will be sent for inspection during the event,” said the chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India, SP Gupta.
Addressing the gathering after meeting officials at the secretariat, Gupta said that their job was to advise and to prevent cruelty towards animals.
“We are not against any tradition or festival. We encourage it. We will only provide guidelines and the state government has to support us in this regard,” he said.
The state government had followed the guidelines promptly, Gupta said, and a report affirming the same was submitted to the Supreme Court.
The team, including S K Mittal, jallikattu committee head, gave a few recommendations to the state with special regard to the treatment of stray animals. “As per the Supreme Court, all animals have the same rights as humans. The governments have to ensure that no animal is on the streets and that they are provided with basic facilities,” Gupta said.
In that regard, a state and District Animal Welfare Board must be set up in association with the local administrative authorities, Gupta said.
“No agency, no individual has the authority to take an animal in the name of 'rescue,' only the government is allowed to do so,” Gupta said, adding that private NGOs and other animal lovers are unaware of the law and therefore take it into their own hands. In case animal lovers want to help, they can be appointed as Animal Welfare officers, Gupta says.
“They can approach us and we will put them through a five-day training program and give them ID cards. These people can help assist the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, district administration and the police in rescue and rehabilitation,” Gupta said.
