Goa govt making "dhirio" legal

The Goa legislative assembly on Tuesday passed a bill aimed at allowing the staging of dhirios ( bull fights ) in Goa.

The private member bill was introduced by the Congress legislator from Curtorim, Mr Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and was passed unanimously. The bill sought to project dhirio as a traditional sport of Goa and aimed to support the sport with adequate safety measures to ensure that the bulls are prevented from injuries.

The congress MLA reasoned that bullfights needed adequate protection and called Dhirio a traditional sport and a part of Goa's heritage.The bill states that " dhirios are a traditional sport in the state of Goa for many centuries and widely prevalent and popular in the state".

Currently bull fights are illegal in Goa but are staged secretly by  many passionate lobbies of the sport which is often riddled with rampant gambling. Police in the state have had to face the ire of mobs who have often retaliated against the cops for stopping the bull fights and taking the promoters of the sport to task.

It may be recalled that twelve years ago, the high court of Bombay at Goa had banned Bull fights in the state on the basis of cruelty to animals thus making "dhirios" illegal in the state of Goa.