HT Digital,
Guwahati, Feb 1: The Gauhati High Court instructed all district administrations to enforce a comprehensive ban on Moh-juj or buffalo fights throughout Assam on Thursday.
The interim order came in response to a petition from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India, seeking to halt buffalo fights, seen as a crucial Bihu-time tradition.
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This development followed PETA India’s announcement on Wednesday that it had lodged a lawsuit in the Gauhati High Court to stop buffalo and bulbul bird fights, which had recently resumed in Assam after a nine-year hiatus.
The Gauhati HC also asked the Assam government to present an action-taken report related to the case to the court. According to court orders, the report must be submitted by February 6 (Tuesday).
PETA’s petition stated that several federal laws were violated during the ancient ritual. The animal rights organisation claimed in a statement that investigations into these fights showed that terrified and severely injured buffaloes were coerced into fighting through beatings, and starved and drugged bulbuls were forced to fight over food.
The bulbul bird fight and buffalo combat, which were halted in Assam in 2015 following the Supreme Court’s prohibition of Tamil Nadu’s Jallikattu, were held during the Bhogali Bihu festivities on January 15 and 16. However, in 2023, the Supreme Court upheld laws regulating the Jallikattu and buffalo races in Karnataka.
Subsequent to the 2023 verdict, the BJP-led Assam government introduced new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to permit the buffalo and bulbul bird fights. As part of the Bhogali Bihu celebrations, a bulbul bird fight took place in Hajo, Kamrup district, on January 15, and a buffalo fight occurred in Ahotguri, Nagaon district, on January 16, nine years later.
PETA India Advocacy Associate Tushar Kol stated that buffaloes and bulbuls are gentle creatures who experience pain and fear and do not wish to be forced into violent fights in front of mocking crowds.
