Jallikkattu events being held in Tamil Nadu during January 2017 to January 2018 has claimed lives of 25 human beings and 10 bulls according to an investigative report prepared by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which was released on Monday. The report said that the jallikkattu events are held in violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Tamil Nadu Amendment ) Act 2017 which facilitated the holding of Jalikkaattu in the State overruling the Supreme Court verdict of 2014.

The shocking report filled with brand-new investigative footage details cruelty perpetrated on animals during Jallikkattu events held in Tamil Nadu during January 2018. The report was prepared by the volunteers of PETA who toured four districts of the State incognito from January 14 to 28 and filmed the cruelties from Ground Zero itself.

According to the findings of the PETA, all rules, guidelines and regulations framed by the Supreme Court and the Government agencies are being openly and blatantly violated during these events.

“The investigations at nine jallikattu events held at different parts of Tamil Nadu from 14 to 28 January 2018 found many instances of cruelty to bulls in the form of both mental and physical torture. Inspections conducted by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 and by PETA India in 2017 demonstrated that such events are inherently cruel, cause bulls unnecessary suffering, and are apparently in direct violation of the provisions of Sections 3 and 11 of the PCA Act, 1960, and this finding was upheld by the Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgment of May 2014. PETA India’s January 2018 investigations once again prove this point,” said Nikunj Sharma, PETA’s Indian representative.

The PETA investigation has found evidence – in the form of photographs and video footage – that shows bulls sustaining broken tails and are being stabbed and jabbed with weapons, hit and jumped on, tackled, and treated in other cruel ways. Such abuse at jallikattu events leads to severe injuries, including broken bones, and even the death of humans as well as bulls.

The media has reported that five bulls died during jallikattu events in January and February 2018 alone, 757 humans were injured, and 10 humans died – including a teenager, said Sharma quoting the new investigation findings.

Casualty figures from jallikattu events between January and June 2017, as reported by the media, indicate that five bulls and 15 humans died and nearly 2,000 humans were injured – including participants, spectators, and a police officer. This means the total number of fatalities resulting from jallikattu events in just over one year – from January 2017 to early February 2018 – is 10 bulls and 25 humans, in addition to the injury of 2,795 humans, said the PETA report.

The findings at all the nine jallikattu events investigated by PETA India also reveal apparent violations of the PCA Act, 1960; the PCA (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017; the Tamil Nadu PCA (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules, 2017; and the AWBI’s guidelines for the conduct of jallikattu.