Will amend laws to hold Jallikattu: Javadekar

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said his ministry would make necessary amendments to denotify bulls from the list of performing animals so that Jallikattu, the bull taming sport, could be celebrated.

Jallikattu was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014.

"We want to allow cultural practices and celebrations without cruelty to animals but there are some legal issues," Minister for Environment and Forests Javadekar said.

"We may need some amendments (Section 22 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act)," he said, adding the amendments would be made whilst other proposed amendments to environment laws take place.

Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been pushing to exclude bulls from the list of exhibiting performing animals which bans local sports like Jallikattu, popular in several villages of these states.

The ministry, in January, had asked Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi for his views on the issue, who had cautioned against issuing notification to take bulls out of the list of exhibiting performing animals.

Instead, Rohtagi had suggested the ministry to bring an amendment in the Act to avoid legal confrontation.