PeTA-India Escalates Legal Battle Over Kambala Buffalo Races to Supreme Court
In a significant development concerning animal welfare, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals-India (PeTA-India) has initiated a major legal challenge by filing a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court. This action directly contests the Karnataka High Court's November 14 order that permitted the controversial Kambala buffalo races to be conducted outside their traditional districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
Allegations of Legal Misinterpretation and Commercialized Cruelty
The animal rights organization asserts that the high court fundamentally misinterpreted the law by declaring that Kambala events represent a culture "statewide." According to PeTA-India, this interpretation unlawfully expands a narrow exemption under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. The group argues that this expansion effectively enables the commercialization of animal cruelty under the deceptive guise of preserving tradition.
PeTA-India has bolstered its legal challenge with compelling new evidence. The organization submitted fresh video and photographic documentation to the Supreme Court, capturing disturbing scenes from Kambala events held in late 2025 and early 2026. This evidence reportedly shows buffaloes being subjected to severe mistreatment, including being beaten with wooden sticks, violently yanked by nose ropes, collapsing from exhaustion, and bearing visible wounds.
Direct Appeal to State Leadership and Legal Grounds
In a parallel effort, PeTA-India shared this graphic material directly with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urgently appealing to him to intervene and put an end to such races across the state. The organization also formally filed a comprehensive investigation report before the Supreme Court, detailing its findings.
The core legal argument presented in the SLP centers on the PCA Act as amended by the state of Karnataka. PeTA-India contends that the Act provides only a limited and conditional exemption for Kambala and similar bull or bullock cart races. This exemption, they argue, is strictly for events held as a genuine part of tradition and culture, historically confined to select coastal districts.
Races organized in non-traditional locations such as Bengaluru or Shivamogga, therefore, remain explicitly prohibited under the PCA Act. The petition further states that permitting races in these areas constitutes a direct violation of established Supreme Court judgments, specifically referencing the rulings in AWBI vs Union of India (2023) and A Nagaraja (2014). It is important to note that an earlier review petition filed by PeTA-India in 2023, which sought a complete prohibition on Kambala and analogous events, remains pending before the courts.
Evidence of Distress and Commercial Exploitation
According to PeTA-India's analysis, the submitted video footage demonstrates that buffaloes are being controlled primarily through the infliction of pain. The organization highlights a critical behavioral point: buffaloes, as prey animals, naturally avoid chaotic and stressful environments. Yet, at these events, they are forcibly pushed into loud, crowded, and brightly lit settings where their inherent fear and distress are exploited for public entertainment.
The evidence package includes findings from the 2023 buffalo race held in Bengaluru. This event reportedly involved the long-distance transport of coastal buffaloes, who were then subjected to whipping and forced to run on longer tracks than traditionally used. PeTA-India strongly emphasized that this event was highly commercial in nature, staged more as an entertainment fair than an authentic cultural practice.
Vikram Chandravanshi, Senior Policy and Legal Adviser at PeTA India, issued a stern statement regarding the Bengaluru event: "India's premier tech hub, Bengaluru, must not be tainted with an archaic and outdated spectacle of grown men abusing vulnerable buffaloes for their amusement." This statement underscores the organization's view that such practices have no place in modern society, especially in a metropolitan center symbolizing progress and innovation.
