Members of the bullfighting association 'Jallikattu Peravai' observed a day-long fast on Sunday to protest against the ban imposed by the Supreme Court on the sport, urging the government to initiate efforts to revoke the ban.
Jallikattu Peravai president P. Rajasekaran termed the ban as unfortunate and vowed to continue the protest till it is revoked.
"The Supreme Court had recently banned all festivals celebrated using cows and bulls like Jallikattu, cow race and others that are held in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Recently the Environment Ministry had listed cows and bulls as animals that cannot be used for performing activities and sports. So we staged this massive fasting protest and urged the government to remove bulls from this list and revoke ban," said Rajasekaran.
Bull owners also alleged that some animal right groups had given false reports and photographs in the Supreme Court about cruelty to the bulls during the event.
Jallikattu is a century-old tradition in which a man tames an angry bull. The event is held during annual 'Pongal' celebrations.