Recently, the Gauhati High Court issued an order imposing a complete ban on buffalo and bulbuli bird fights in the state of Assam.

The single-headed bench of Justice Devasis Baruah issued the order after hearing arguments from People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which contended that the 2023 government notification permitting these fights violated both the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The petitioners further argued that permitting these fights also contravened the Supreme Court's judgment in Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja (Jalikattu case). After considering the arguments, the court annulled the government notification and ruled:

''Section 3 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 deals with the duty of persons having charge of animals...which is mandatory. Rights conferred on animals are the antithesis of a duty. If those rights are violated, the law will enforce those rights with legal sanction."

The court further stated that, unlike other states, Assam had not made any amendments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act but had instead chosen to override both the Act and the Wildlife Protection Act, as well as the Nagaraja judgment, which the court found to be unacceptable.