Kambala: Sport or cruelty?

The ban on the traditional buffalo race Kambala held annually in coastal Karnataka districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada has sparked a fresh debate whether such events amount to cruelty to animals or just simple sport.
Kambala events, which involved racing of buffaloes in paddy fields filled with slush and mud, draw a large number of people. Nearly 18 such events are held under the banner of Kambala Samithi every year during the November-March period.
Today, it has become an organised rural sport with grand planning but the century-old practice has been drawing flak from animal activists who say it is cruelty to the animals.

Kambala was banned by the district administration of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in mid-November after the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) pressed for it following a Supreme Court order on May 7 against cruelty towards animals in the guise of entertainment.
In its traditional form, Kambala was non-competitive and he-buffalo pairs raced one after another in paddy fields. It was also observed as thanksgiving to gods for protecting the animals from diseases.
Noted animal rights activist and Union minister Maneka Gandhi had expressed serious concerns about the ill-treatment of buffaloes.

The AWBI had sent messages to the Deputy Commissioners of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts pointing out that Kambala cannot be allowed in view of the Supreme Court verdict banning Jallikattu (bull fighting) in Tamil Nadu.

Following this, the administration of the two districts has imposed a ban on the traditional event.
AWBI secretary-in-charge S Vinod Kumar said the ban is very wide and absolute. The Supreme Court had gone deeply into the matter and also anatomy of animals like cattle. "These acts are not animals' natural instinct and they run in the race due to fear of being beaten," Kumar said.
In the meantime, the state government had written to the Centre pleading with it not to ban 'Kambala' which had been part of rural life here since long.
State minister B Ramanath Rai said 'Kambala' was a coastal tradition and it should be allowed since there was no cruelty involved in its conduct.