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MANGALURU: The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has again fired off a letter to the state’s Chief Secretary, the deputy commissioners of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts and officials in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services and Superintendents of Police asking that immediate steps be taken to stop the Kambala events that are planned to be held in the state as per the Kambala calendar for the year 2015-16. Board in its letter further stated that Karnataka government’s decision to allow Kambala is in direct violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and squarely in contempt of Supreme Court directives and judgment.

 In its letter dated January 14, the AWBI pointed out the Supreme Court has stayed the January 7 notification of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF &CC) which permitted use of bulls in jallikattu, bullock cart races and similar events through order dated January 12 and refused to revoke the stay through an order dated January 13.

 The January 7 notification of MoEF & CC, which has been stayed by the Supreme Court refers to Karnataka state too, said the AWBI. The letter further explained that the MoEF&CC has already clarified that the word ’bulls’ refers to oxen, bullocks, cows, calves (male and female), castrated and un-castrated bulls and that the term ’oxen’ is plural of ox and it means ’any member of the bovine family’. Buffalo and cattle are listed under bovine family. The letter further clarified that ’ox’ means ’domesticated bovine animal kept for milk or meat’; ’a cow or bull, and ’oxen’ includes ’any of various large, bulky bovids, as domestic cattle, water buffaloes, and yaks’.

 The AWBI had also written a letter to Karnataka Government on December 18, 2015 stating the order of officials of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts which banned Kambala events in the year 2014 are not limited to Kambala events organised in 2014-15 but are permanent and hence the ban on such events stay.

 The AWBI had conducted inspections of three Kambala events in 2014-15 which resulted in the filing of 65 non-cognisable offence complaints and one first information report at local police stations and it was proved beyond doubt that Kambala events are inherently cruel and are no different from bull races and jallikattu, which are also banned by the Supreme Court in the entire country.