John Abraham hails ban on bull sport

Mumbai: Bollywood actor John Abraham, on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, Monday wrote to the Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, thanking her for the ministry`s decision to ban the use of bulls as performing animals. "I was very happy to learn from my friends in PETA that Jallikattu (a bull taming sport)is now illegal as are other cruel uses of bulls for performance, such as bull racing, via a notification by your ministry," Abraham wrote in the letter. Since the central government is expected to respond to the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court by Jan 11 on a petition by organisers of Jallikattu challenging the ban, Abraham requested the ministry not to grant any such permission. "As an actor, I choose to perform, but animals used for Jallikattu and bull races don`t. During Jallikattu, bulls are deliberately terrorised and made to suffer for entertainment. They are taunted by crowds, pushed, hit and wrestled to the ground," he wrote. In 2011, the ministry issued a notification which banned the use of bulls as performing animals - thereby banning Jallikattu. "It has been reported that the ministry is being pressured by a few Jallikattu supporters to allow it to continue. However, even if the ban on Jallikattu under the notification in the Gazette of India did not exist, the cruel treatment of animals during it is still illegal," a PETA official said. IANS