PANJIM: The long pending demand for legalisation of bullfights– locally known as Dhirio — seems to have come to an end as BJP-led government has no plans to legalise the banned animal sport in the coastal State.
Animal Husbandry Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar, however, admitted on the floor of the House that Dhirios are organised illegal in the State, as per the communiques received from the NGOs.
Responding to the question tabled by Independent MLA Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco, Halarnkar said that the government has no plans to legalise Dhirio in the State. Dhirio has been banned in the state as per a 1997 Supreme Court judgement. In 1997, in response to the petition filed by the People for Animals (PFA) against ‘Dhirio’, the Bench of Bombay High Court at Goa had banned bullfighting under the provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Later, the Special Leave Petition filed by the State was dismissed by the Apex Court. However, despite the ban, Dhirio continues to be a big draw across some of the major coastal areas.
