PANAJI
Ten months have passed since the House Committee on bullfights was constituted but its much-awaited report is yet to be presented to the Assembly. The panel was scheduled to submit its report in March.
The 5-member committee under the Chairmanship of St Andre MLA Vishnu Surya Wagh was announced by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on August 13 in the monsoon session of the Assembly, last year to explore the possibilities of organising bull-fights within the legal ambit.
The committee witnessed a change in the chairmanship after Wagh was appointed the Deputy Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly. Velim MLA Benjamin Silva was chosen to head the panel on January 15, but not a single meeting was held under his chairmanship.
Under Wagh, the committee had its first meeting on November 16; the new chairman has not convened a single meeting since last five months after he took over.
When contacted for comments on the delay to convene the meeting, Committee Chairman Benjamin Silva did not respond to the several calls made by The Goan.
Former Committee Chairman Vishnu Wagh said, “Though only one meeting of the Committee was held, we had gathered a lot of information relating to the subject. We had received nearly 1,500 suggestions and objections. But, more than those suggestions, we had studied the history related to bullfights like how it is held in various parts of the world. In Fujairah, UAE bull-fights are held every Friday and they do not get any injuries, as before that the bulls are separated. So we also explored the possibility of organising it on those lines.”
During the first meeting, the Committee had taken a decision to invite opinions and suggestions from public as well as stakeholders on bull-fights which included bull owners, NGOs and peoples’ representatives, among others. Following this decision, an advertisement was issued in newspapers on November 27 regarding the same.
The committee had asked for various acts like Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Animal Welfare Act, among others, and also decided to study the Supreme Court verdict on bullfights and all the relevant information available on bullfights.
In all, the Committee had received over 1500 suggestions and objections, including those from the states like Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, among others via post. Sources had informed that most of these were opposing bullfights.
