See: http://www.asianage.com/main.asp?layout=2&cat1=5&cat2=89&newsid=183303&RF=DefaultMain
The Asian Age - News Worldwide Bullfight fans in Goa seek its revival - By Pamela D’Mello Panaji, Sept. 27: Eight years after bullfights were banned in Goa under cruelty to animal laws, a fresh debate is kicking up dust, with diehard fans rooting for its legal revival. Traditional bullfights, locally known as dhirio and immensely popular with young male spectators and punters in parts of coastal Goa, was halted in 1997, when animal rights groups went to court, asking authorities to take heed of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act. The fights, held in open paddy fields, were deemed unsafe and cruel, as bulls were provoked by trainers before they entered the arena. Enforcing authorities, asked to prevent the fights by the high court, did so for a while. However, the sport refused to be stamped out, and merely went underground. Impromptu tournaments, advertised by word of mouth to its fan pool, have picked up over the years, while authorities lost interest and looked the other way. This month though, the police in a south Goa station called some 40 bullfight organisers to a meeting to warn them against staging the events at the start of its traditional post harvest high season that commences this time of the year. Since then, interest has gained ground, with the local Gomantak Times daily running a series on the views of several fighter bull owners and fans of the "traditional animal sport," spurring on a discussion for a more respectable revival. Among its followers in the villages of coastal Goa, fighter bulls enjoy all the fame of race horses, with flamboyant names to go with it. Their owners, many with huge investments in animal purchase and upkeep have unsuccessfully lobbied with politicians from the region to have legal amendments made or fresh legislation to regulate the sport. Since the Prevention of Cruelty Act falls under the concurrent list, the state government could technically make amendments to exempt the sport if it had the political will, one lawyer said. Supporters argue that its "regulated" resumption would assist better organisation in safe enclosures to ensure spectator safety and vets to treat the animals — a practice followed in other states which host traditional animal sport. Goa’s animal husbandry minister, Mr Francisco Micky Pacheco, himself a fan of the sport, told this newspaper he was attempting to have "animal shows" started to demonstrate strength and agility. If Mr Pacheco manages to legally revive bull fights — though he has not said so in so many words, preferring to call them "animal shows" — he will have scored an important victory over rival member of Parliament, Churchill Alemao and other regional political parties who promised to have the sport legalised, in deference to its popularity.
