Chennai: The human deaths due to jallikattu reached an all-time high with two more people dying in a bull race at Bargur on Sunday. Animal activists said that human and animal rights have been violated to a great extent resulting in loss of life.
“For the past so many years, animal activists and the Animal Welfare Board of India has been highlighting deaths due to bull taming sports, but despite the Supreme Court agreeing the point, politicians and the state went against the apex court. The end result is that so far eight people across the state had died in various bull taming and bull race events,” said a member of Animal Welfare Board of India.
The maximum death has come from Madurai district where three villages organized jallikattu. Further, there are more than 40 people admitted at various government hospitals and some of them are seriously injured after being gored by bulls. “We are getting details in this regard and we will take up the issue again in the Supreme Court,” he said.
“It’s a sad news for us as more than eight people have died and the organisers fail to understand that human lives are precious”, said Arun Prasanna, founder, People for Cattle in India.
“We have been demanding for a group insurance of bull tamers for some time. At least from now onwards the state should consider about insuring the bull tamers so that the family of the deceased is financially taken care,” he said.
Meanwhile, a life member of Madras SPCA said this year death toll has reached an all-time high as more jallikattu events were conducted in Tamil Nadu after the state passed a special ordinance supporting the event last month.
