The Karnataka High Court on October 14 dismissed most parts of the petition filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeking to restrict the traditional Kambala bullock races to Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. The court, however, said it would continue hearing arguments on whether the race can be held near a zoo in Mangaluru.
Kambala, a traditional bullock race, popular in coastal Karnataka, involves two bullocks driven by a handler on an earthen track. In its 2024 petition, PETA had asked the court to bar the government from granting permissions to conduct the race outside the two coastal districts and to ensure strict enforcement of the amended Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Supreme Court directions in future events.
Appearing for PETA, senior counsel Dhyan Chinappa argued that Kambala was culturally rooted only in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. “It can only be done in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, where it is part of the culture. In no other part of Karnataka is it part of tradition,” he said, adding that there was no precedent of the race being held in Shimoga or Bengaluru.
PETA also raised concerns over animal welfare, particularly the transportation of bullocks from the coast to other parts of the state and contended that the 2017 amendment permitting Kambala applied solely to the two districts.
Representing the State, advocate Shashikiran Shetty told the court, “We have issued regulations when it is being conducted in Bengaluru, what are the steps to be taken… if your lordships feel the need for any conditions over and above this, we are ready to comply.”
A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha questioned the logic of geographically limiting a cultural event. “It is a State and therefore if there is any event which is a very integral part of the culture of some locality… why is it that event may not be held elsewhere? If you look at the State as unified, it is part of the State… will you be able to demarcate saying it is part of the culture of only a particular district?” the bench observed.
The bench dismissed most aspects of the petition but said it would continue hearing PETA’s objections over the potential distress caused to animals at the nearby Pilikula Biological Park due to noise from the Kambala race conducted in its vicinity.