Five goring deaths have occurred at an Indian bull-taming festival this week after bulls released into crowds of participants mauled dozens of people.
The festival, known as Jallikattu, releases a bull into a crowd of participants who try to either ride the bull or grab bundles of money and gold tied to its sharpened horns. The object is not to kill the bull but to tame it without using weapons.
The festival started Sunday in various locations across southern India, and a total of five men had been killed by Wednesday. One person was killed in Palamedu on Monday while two died in Siravayal and one in Palakurishi on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a 45-year-old vendor was killed while watching the events near the exit point of Vadamalapur, Fox News reported.
The Indian Supreme Court banned Jallikattu in 2014 because of animal cruelty, but lifted the ban last year after protests. The government in part said the sport was important to “the survival and well-being of the native breed of bulls” and for “preserving cultural traditions,” the BBC reported.
At least 60 people have been injured or mauled at the bull-taming festival since Sunday, Fox reported.
Jallikattu is more than 2,000 years old, one of the world’s oldest sports still being practiced. Dozens of people have been killed participating the sport in recent years and hundreds have been injured.
Animal rights activists argue that when bulls are forced to fend off those trying to ride them, it causes them stress.
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