Jallikattu continues to claim lives of humans and bulls in Tamil Nadu, PeTA report filed in Supreme Court says

CHENNAI: After widespread protests, jallikattu has been allowed in Tamil Nadu. But animal welfare organisations continue to fight against the cruel practice.
On Thursday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India filed its latest investigation report on 2020 jallikattu events in Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court as part of its petition seeking to overturn the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, which allows jallikattu events in the state.
The 103-page report (English) and accompanying video footage document extreme cruelty to bulls and disregard for human life. The observations in the report include those from seven jallikattu events the group investigated in Ariyalur, Dindigul, Madurai, and Trichy districts of Tamil Nadu.
"Year after year, PeTA India's investigations tell the same story of mass human and bull deaths and the deliberate torment of bulls who are forced to take part in jallikattu," says PeTA India CEO Dr Manilal Valliyate.
"Jallikattu is an inherently abusive and dangerous practice that has no place in our modern and progressive society. PeTA India is calling for an immediate reinstatement of the ban on these cruel events."
PeTA India's 2020 investigations revealed acts of cruelty and dangerous situations including the following:
~ Bulls were hit with bare hands, whipped with ropes, and jabbed with nail-tipped wooden sticks, metal rods, and metal sickles inside vaadivasals
~ Their tails were savagely bitten, twisted, and yanked to force them into crowds
~ Nose ropes were roughly handled, causing their nostrils to bleed
~ Panicked bulls fled onto village streets, injuring onlookers and even goring some to death
~ Onlookers hit and jumped onto bulls fleeing the collection yards and engaged in the illegal practice of "parallel jallikattu"
~ Bulls sustained severe injuries, and some collapsed from exhaustion
~ Many bulls were not adequately physically examined by veterinarians
Since the Tamil Nadu government legalised jallikattu in 2017, at least 22 bulls and 57 humans have reportedly died and 3,632 humans were injured in events organised throughout the state, according to calculations from various news reports, says PETA India.
As bull deaths and even many human injuries are not always recorded, these figures are likely vastly underestimated.