Cops lack bullish intent on banning dhirios

As journalists suffered injuries as irate bullfight fans pelted stones at the police, which tried to stop a ongoing bullfight in Salcete, last week, it was yet another instance of ban on bull fighting mocked in public. With the government neither being able to legalise it or ban it completely, the ‘sport’ flits in and out of the shadows of legality.

Goa therefore will be more botched attempts at bringing an end to bullfighting. The President of the Animal Rescue Squad Amrut Singh who has a large collection of evidence and photographs of such bullfights criticized the government for going soft on bullfighting.

“They are going soft as some politicians are supporting ‘dhirios’s (bullfights) and they put pressure on the police.  BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh for instance is quote vocal in his support for bullfighting,” said Singh.

Singh added, “If we file a complaint, somehow the bullfight organisers get to know about the raid. The police conveniently reach the venue after the fight is over or go for a wild goose chase and claim they could not find the location.” 

It can be recalled that days before the Lok Sabha elections in Goa, the then chief minister Manohar Parrikar had at a meeting held in Margao and aimed at the Xaxtikars, made a statement assuring he would strive to legalise dhirios. Nothing came out of that promise but the current BJP government has failed to act strongly enough to reign what is still and illegal activity. 

Incidentally, exactly a year ago in April, at a meeting in Nuvem, Deputy Chief Minister, Franciso D’Souza, took a dig at the Congress for not honouring the promise of legalising dhirios, but was silent on the question of BJP not legalising the banned bullfights.  Mr Manohar Parrikar, the then Chief Minister was present and while he fell short of specifying what he had in mind, continued to promise to find a solution to the banned sport, claiming his government would try and look for one.

Parrikar’s mellowed down approach and the BJP government’s muted response was as due to the anger and discontent such statements for legalising bullfights had caused within the party.  

Furthermore, the BJP is backed by right wing organisations that are pushing for a ban on beef slaughter and the protection of cows and cow progeny, which includes bulls and bullocks.

Interestingly, former South Goa Congress MP Francisco Sardinha had also promised to legalise dhirios. Sardinha had even moved a private member's bill in Parliament that did not get passed due to lack of sufficient support.

Animal right activists pointed out that bullfighting was rampant in the coastal talukas, large parts of South Goa and Pernem taluka.

“There is a lot of bleeding and body injuries caused to the animals, which amount to severe cruelty.  Actually by law, there is no scope for any leniency as bullfighting has been banned by the Supreme Court” added Amrut Singh

Examining the situation from a legal point of view, senior advocate Cleofato Almeida Coutinho, said, “Bullfights are banned. It is a crime to organise bullfights. In fact it is the responsibility of the State government to see that no such illegal activity takes place.” 

“Now if the police look the other way, it is only because the bullfight organisers have political patronage or the police are complicit in the illegal act,” added Coutinho, a former member of the State Law Commission

Animal right activists have called for stricter regulation and strengthening of the law against bullfighting. They pointed that there is no strong precedent or deterrent in place and if anyone offences are registered, the accused persons manage to get acquittals easily.