Kambala One Step Away From Being Declared Legal

Kambala, the traditional slush track buffalo race, is just one step away from being declared legal. With the Union Ministry of Law and Justice having cleared the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2017, it will now be sent to the President for his assent, said Union Minister of State for Law and Justice P P Choudhary.

He said Kambala has a ‘strong link with local culture’ and must be preserved. The Bill was cleared after the state government was asked to either modify or omit the phrase “subject to such other conditions as may be prescribed”.

Following protests by people and kambala organisers in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts, the state government on 13 February 2017 passed the Bill to exempt kambala and bullock-cart racing from the ambit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.