The state government informed the Karnataka High Court Wednesday that the Kambala bullock race’s effect on zoo animals would be evaluated by an expert panel. The submission by Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty came in the wake of a PIL filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against holding the kambala bullock race outside the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. The kambala is a bullock race on an earthen track involving two bullocks being directed forward by a handler.
The animal rights group also requested that a November 2023 government order giving permission for such races be declared ultra vires and that action be taken against organisers of such races in Bengaluru. PETA had also raised a specific objection to holding a kambala race near the Pilikula Biological Park Zoo in Mangaluru on account of the effect it might have on the animals. The race near Mangaluru, which was originally set to happen on November 17, has since been put on hold.
Previously, PETA had argued on October 21 that the context in which the Supreme Court had upheld a Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act amendment in Karnataka meant that the kambala should only be held in those regions where it was a traditional practice. This would restrict it to being held in the coastal regions of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. They had argued that unlike in 2023, when a kambala race had been held in Bengaluru, the same should not be allowed this year as transporting the animals all the way from coastal Karnataka to participate in a race would amount to animal cruelty.
PETA’s counsel had argued, “This becomes a commercial event and no longer traditional. There are tickets, food courts, VVIP seats, lakhs of people expected to come for such events… It cannot be a show. It has to be a traditional function, which is part of the culture of a particular area.” The state had argued that horses were imported and kambala was actually a tradition belonging to the culture of Karnataka. The court had also directed that they were to be informed if any decisions were taken on permission for the race.
Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty stated in court on Wednesday that a committee had been formed to study the impact on the animals housed at Pilikula if the kambala was conducted. He stated, “We have taken the deputy director of Chamarajnagar Zoological Gardens, the Department of Animal Husbandry, NITK Surathkal and the Pollution Control Board. A four-member team has been assembled.”
The matter will be heard next on December 4.
