Context:

Recently, the Gauhati High Court reinstated the ban on traditional buffalo and bulbul (songbird) fights during Assam's Magh Bihu festival.

Background:

In May 2023, the SC overruled its 2014 ban on Jallikattu, Kambala and bullock cart racing by upholding amendments made by the Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Karnataka governments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.

Inspired by this, the Assam government issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in January 2024 to allow buffalo and bulbul fights, citing their cultural significance. 

The SOPs outlined guidelines for conducting these fights in a regulated manner, prohibiting cruelty, drug use, and ensuring the animals and birds are not intentionally harmed.

• Buffalo Fights were allowed only in areas where they had been traditionally conducted for over 25 years and only between January 15-25.
• The SOPs required organizers to ensure that the bulbuls were released in good condition at the end of the fight and that they were not captured illegally.

Challenge to the Revival of Fights:

• PETA India filed a legal challenge in the Gauhati High Court, seeking a ban on these activities. 
• The petitioners argued that the SOPs were insufficient to prevent cruelty.

Gauhati High Court's Judgment:

• The Court struck down the Assam government’s notification to revive the buffalo and bulbul fights, ruling that it violated key animal protection laws.
• The court referred to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, stating that since bulbuls are protected under Schedule II, their use in fights violates the Act’s provisions.
• The court also noted that the Assam government did not amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, unlike the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, which had made legal amendments with Presidential assent to allow similar animal sports.
• The court emphasized that the Assam government’s attempt to circumvent national laws through executive instructions was not permissible.

Relevant SC judgment:

• In 2014, the Supreme Court of India ruled that animal fights, including buffalo fights, were illegal under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, of 1960 and the Wildlife Protection Act, of 1972. 
• The SC also upheld a ban on using animals for performances such as in bullfights.
• The SC directed the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to ensure that “the person in charge or care of the animal shall not incite any animal to fight against a human being or another animal.”
• Following this ruling, the AWBI in 2015, urged the Assam government to halt these activities thus leading to a ban that continued for nearly a decade.