People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, has sent a legal notice to MS Raj, director of Marina Puratchi - a film about the jallikattu protests that rocked Tamil Nadu in January 2017.
PETA alleges that the director has made false, defamatory and malicious statements against the organisation, terming it a 'smear campaign'.
In a statement to the press, Nikunj Sharma, Associate Director of Policy at PETA India slammed the bull sport that is held in Tamil Nadu during the Pongal festival season.
He said, “These deceitful filmmakers seem to have such little faith in their own abilities that they've resorted to trying to dupe the public by lying and using PETA India's popularity as a springboard to seek attention for themselves. Those who send bulls to face injuries and often death at jallikattu events are the ones destroying native breeds, whereas PETA India is acting as the bulls' protector by trying to prevent them from enduring the harm inflicted upon them in this cruel 'game'.”
In an interview to the Times of India last week, MS Raj, the director of the film alleged that his research for the film showed that PETA had ‘manipulated’ politicians and film stars in an attempt to ban jallikattu.
He claimed, “We have all been told that PETA was the main reason behind the ban on jallikattu, and that they wanted to destroy our native breeds through it. But during my investigation, I found that they had an even more serious motive. They received Rs 100 crore for their campaign, and we have shown how they used that money to manipulate politicians and film stars and get jallikattu banned. An ex-central minister and a popular film actress played key roles in this ban. Two Tamils are also responsible for the ban, and we have identified them in this film.”
Raj also said that the film will reveal the 18 youngsters who were behind the success of the protests.
The Supreme Court had banned jallikattu in May 2014. The court held that bulls cannot be used as performing animals either for jallikattu or for bullock cart races anywhere in the country.
However, following the large-scale protests at Marina beach in Chennai and other districts in the state, the Tamil Nadu government passed an ordinance that allowed the conduct of the bull sport, by amending the Prevention of Cruelty Act for the state.
PETA has further alleged that since January 2017, “at least 32 humans – including a police officer – have been killed and more than 3,000 have been injured during the events. At least 12 bulls have also died during jallikattu since this time, and many more deaths and injuries of bulls likely go unreported.”