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| | | Actor John Abraham has fired off a letter, on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, to the Minister of Environment and Forests — Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan — thanking her for the Ministry's decision to ban the use of bulls as performing animals, which means a ban on jallikattu, a cruel and now illegal bull taming sport played in Tamil Nadu.
John’s letter comes at a time when the Centre is expected to respond to the Madurai bench of the Madras high court by 11th January on a petition by organisers of jallikattu challenging the ban. Recently, despite the ban, the Tamil Nadu government gave permission for jallikattu to be held in Madurai. Through his letter, John has also asked the Ministry to take strong steps to ensure that these cruel events don’t take place anywhere in Tamil Nadu.
In 2011, the Ministry of the Environment and Forests issued a notification which banned the use of bulls as performing animals–thereby banning jallikattu. Prior to the issuing of this notification, actor Hema Malini had appealed to the Ministry to ban jallikattu on behalf of PETA India. .
John Abraham’s letter to the ministry is below.
The Honourable
Jayanthi Natarajan
Minister of Environment & Forests
Government of India
Paryavaran Bhawan
Room 428
CGO Complex
Lodhi Road
New Delhi 110 003
Dear Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan,
I was very happy to learn from my friends at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India that jallikattu is now illegal as are other cruel uses of bulls for “performance” such as bull racing via a notification by your Ministry in The Gazette of India.
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. During bull races, the animals are often beaten with nail-studded sticks. Jallikattu is not just cruel to animals; it is also cruel to people. Many human participants and spectators become injured and some even lose their lives at jallikattu events.
As you know, the Constitution of India says it is the duty of every Indian citizen to have compassion for all living creatures, and under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, it is illegal to beat, kick or torture any animal.
It has been reported that your 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 jallikattu is still illegal under the PCA Act, 1960. On behalf of all compassionate Indian citizens, I am writing to request that your Ministry uphold our country’s laws and our constitutional requirement to show kindness to animals by instructing the Tamil Nadu government and police to crack down on jallikattu events, which are now illegal.
I ask that you kindly keep me informed about the action you decide to take through Sachin Bangera of PETA India. He is available on SachinB@petaindia.org.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
John Abraham  © 2011 EarthSmiles.net . All rights reserved. Made from 100% recycled pixels. One more celeb champions PETA's campaign towards a kinder planet
Love, from John
With input released by PETA
| Indian actor and model John Abraham, is an avowed vegetarian and has participated in several ad campaigns for PETA India | |
