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Legal notice sent to environment minister regarding bullock cart races in Maharashtra

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Animal rights activist Gargi Gogoi has sent a legal notice to the union minister for environment and forest, Prakash Javadekar, after a proposed permission to hold bullock cart races in Maharashtra.

The proposed permission is in direct contradiction to the supreme court's orders of July 11, 2011. The court had issued two directives in the civil appeals no 5387 and 5391 of 2014. In the 2001 order, the SC had included "bulls" into the category of animals that shall not be trained for performance or exhibitions.

This directive was issued to establish that bullock cart races or Jalikattu in Tamil Nadu are not a part of culture or tradition and such acts are barbaric, and must be prohibited.

On August 24, 2011, Maharashtra followed the SC's lead and issued a notification banning bullock cart races in the state.

However, at a recent press conference, Javadekar indicated that he was open to discussing the matter and granting permission to organise bullock cart races in the state.

"These races used to result in heinous instances of cruelty committed on the bulls. It's extremely important these races remain banned and Javadekar's comments not be construed as permission to hold bullock cart races," said Gargi Gogoi, adding, "There have already been some races that were organised on the Mumbai-Pune highway last week. This matter needs to be cleared out soon to protect the poor animals that are forced to participate in this savage spectacle."

The union minister's comments have worried many animal rights activists in the state. The minister was not available for comment as he was out of the country.

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