By John B Monteiro

Mangaluru, Oct 29: “You don't have to be Einstein to see that horse racing is dangerous. Those two ambulances driving behind you are not there for the scenery. I will never get over the fatalities of colleagues. It is the saddest and toughest part of this sport.” - Tony McCoy.

Sir Anthony Peter McCoy OBE (b.1974), commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony, is a Northern Irish former horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and the UK, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners, and was Champion Jockey a record 20 consecutive times, every year. He was a professional. The extensive list of injures McCoy sustained during his many years of riding included a broken leg, arm, ankle, both wrists, shoulder blades, collar-bones, cheekbones and all of his ribs. He has also got broken several vertebrae in his back, suffered punctured lungs and had all his teeth replaced.

Kambala (file photo)

From horse racing to buffalo racing (Kambala) in Tulunadu is a long shot. In horse racing, the concern, as noted above, is for the rider or jockey, a man. In Tulunadu, as will be presently elaborated, the concern is for the animals, with the barefoot jockeys totally ignored.

Litigation and Legislation

There have been court litigations and legislations centred on violence to racing animals. Even as the racing officials announced the racing calendar for the 2019-20 season, the animal rights activists have approached the Supreme Court opposing Kambalas as per report below:

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that has challenged the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Second Amendment) Act, 2017 before the Supreme Court, has filed a report before the court alleging acts of cruelty against buffaloes in four Kambala events during December 2018-February 2019 season. The Act was amended in 2017 after the apex court banned Kambala along with bullock cart race and Jallikattu in 2014, to exclude Kambala, the traditional buffalo slush track race of undivided Dakshina Kannada (Tulunadu), from the purview of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

PETA in its report to the Court said that the races were held in Baradi Beedu, Udupi district, on December 8, 2018 and in Moodbidri, Mangaluru, and Thiruvail villages, Dakshina Kannada district, on December 1, 2018, January 13, 2019 and February 16, 2019 respectively. The evidence collected, even though event organisers attempted to prohibit photography and videography, proves yet again that no amount of regulation can prevent cruelty to buffalo bulls which are used for entertainment.

Visual Evidence

PETA gave detailed accounts of alleged cruelty to buffaloes. Reluctant, scared buffalo bulls were whacked repeatedly with bare hands, slapped in the face, kicked, poked and hit with wooden sticks, dragged to the starting point by groups of five or six people, and shouted at.

They said some buffaloes had wounds from beatings that were camouflaged by a black substance. Many buffaloes that finished the race were frothing in the mouth, salivating heavily and displayed increased respiratory rates. Participants yanked, pulled and held onto buffaloes’ tails in a race category.

The petition challenges the constitutional validity of the amendment Act.

PETA Challenged

Responding to PETA’s charges, Mangaluru City North MLA Dr Bharath Shetty urged the NGO to understand how affectionately buffaloes are treated by their owners. In a tweet, Shetty said, ”Before you make futile stories, would insist you to participate as an audience in the Kambala race and also spare some time to witness and understand how affectionately these buffaloes are treated.”

Alert readers would have noticed the litany of injuries Tony McCoy suffered before he resigned from riding at the peak of his career. Yet, there has been no song and dance about violence to jockeys as PETA people are doing in the case of racing animals. That takes us to the barefoot and faceless Kambala jockeys of Tulunadu.

Black-out on Kambala Jockeys

There is a complete black-out of news about the fate of 100 odd champion racers who are the unsung faceless heroes of buffalo racing. Barefoot jockeys are not even noticed at buffalo races. On the other hand, jockeys riding race horses like McCoy are conferred knighthoods and even make it to the front pages of newspapers in the case of major prestige cups and appear routinely on sports pages. The horse jockey proudly remains mounted on his winning steed, while the owner and trainer walk on either side of the horse at the end of the race. He is dressed like a Roman soldier with leather shoes and safety helmet.

On the other hand, the barefoot jockey, prodding the buffaloes to run fast and himself running after them, keeping his link with them, wears only a loin cloth. While the horse jockey sits erect on his mount at the finishing line, the barefoot jockey, at the end of the race, manages to stagger away and lie on the ground exhausted. He is left alone with the racing team concentrating on controlling the buffaloes and leading them away for rest. At the races the barefoot jockey is a forgotten nullity.

Self-trained barefoot Jockey

The barefoot jockey comes from the hardy rural agricultural stock with full of strength and stamina, whereas the horse jockey is high on social contacts and much courted (for tips for punters from the horse’s mouth). The barefoot jockey retreats to his daily chores on his farmstead. While the horse jockey could be a manipulator and could fix his race, the barefoot jockey is a simple soul who runs for prestige and honour and loyalty to the owner. While the horse jockey makes lac of rupees per season as mounting fees (and may be much more through tips and race-fixing), the barefoot jockey runs for a pittance.

Barefoot jockeys graduate from ploughing. Youngsters who plough the field, at the end of their labour try racing the buffaloes in large (long) fields. Thus, talent is discovered and nurtured. There are about 100 plus barefoot jockeys in Tulunadu of whom 10% are super or senior jockeys who handle rope (Hagga) races. In this race the buffaloes cover a 200-metre stretch under 13 seconds.

Easily Trackable

Barefoot jockeys have come into focus because the ban on whipping. Racing officials have gone out of their way to impress upon the barefoot jockeys to refrain from whipping with threats of fine and ban from racing. With the still cameras and videos, whipping can be easily tracked and defaulters brought to justice. But, old habits die hard. It is said that as the race is announced and as the buffaloes start from their resting points, some barefoot jockeys whip the animals on the way to the starting points, beyond the view of spectators and cameras, who are concentrated at the finishing point (Manjotti). They believe that such whipping makes the animals angry and make them run faster even if they are not whipped in the course of the race. In the latest evidence submitted by PETA in its Supreme Court appeal it appears that nothing can escape photo/video surveillance.

Bottomline

The bottom line is that animal rights activists like PETA, instead of barking up the wrong tree (animals) should shift their attention in favour of humans, the barefoot, semi-clad Kambala jockeys.