‘Bulls’ Gather Outside High Commission of India in Support of Ban on Cruel Bullfights and Races

PETA Is Urging Government Authorities Not to Lift Vital Protection for Bulls Tormented, Punched, and Stabbed for ‘Sport’

For Immediate Release:
September 13, 2016

Contact:
Diane Hsiung 202-483-7382

What:    Wearing masks and brandishing signs in the colors of India’s flag that proclaim, “India: Keep the Ban on Cruel Jallikattu & Bull Racing,” half a dozen PETA “bulls” will gather outside the High Commission of India on Thursday. The action comes as special-interest groups attempt to overturn the Indian Supreme Court’s recent confirmation that bullfights, bull races, and jallikattu (rodeo-style bull-baiting events) violate India’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

When:    Thursday, September 15, 12 noon

Where:    High Commission of India, 10 Springfield Rd., Ottawa, ON K1M 1C9

Videos from these events show terrified bulls as they’re chased, kicked, punched, jumped on, dragged to the ground, and stabbed. During races, they’re hit with nail-studded sticks and pushed beyond the point of exhaustion. In bullfights, they’re stabbed and a round ends only when one animal is killed or manages to flee, invariably injured.

“India must not roll back the clock and allow bulls to be tormented and killed to amuse a screaming crowd,” says PETA US President Ingrid Newkirk, who is also the founder of PETA India. “The world is watching and hoping that the government of India will do the right thing by keeping these dangerous and cruel spectacles illegal.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—and its affiliates will also hold anti-jallikattu demonstrations at Indian embassies in Canada and elsewhere around the world.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.