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Polity
Article by: Sapa Published: 03 Dec 2009
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| Bull killing saga won’t end after Friday judgment — expert | |
| Animal Rights Africa (ARA) was likely to take the issue of bull killing further if the Pietermaritzburg High Court did not stop the upcoming ritual, a culture expert said on Thursday. Judge Nic van der Reyden is expected to hand down judgment on Friday on ARA's application to stop the killing of a bull with bare hands at the Ukweshwama ceremony. ARA took the Zulu king, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize and three government departments to court, arguing that the manner in which bulls were killed during the ritual was cruel. Ndela Ntshangase, lecturer in the University of KwaZulu-Natal's school of IsiZulu, said the animal group was likely to take the matter to the Constitutional Court or "world international courts" if its application failed. During court proceedings on Tuesday, the judge said it would be difficult for him to stop the ritual which went deep to the heart of the Zulu tradition. He likened the stopping of the bull killing to ordering Catholics to stop eating the Holy Communion. "The judge faces a mammoth task. He is dealing with the issue of rights versus rights," said Ntshangase, referring to the rights of animals and Zulu cultural and religious rights. The judge would have to weigh up the rights of animals and those of Zulus, he said. "If he rules in favour of the Zulus, it will not mean that the rights of animals are not important but he will be trying to avoid things like uprisings which we don't want," said Ntshangase. He said ARA would not rest if the judge turned down its application as it "strongly believed that the bull was killed in a cruel manner". "If the judge does not stop the ritual, he is likely to rule that ARA can take the matter to other courts if it is not happy with his judgment. "He is also likely to suggest that the matter be handled by Parliament." The ARA had hoped for a decision on the matter on Tuesday, but the delay indicated that the court was "giving serious consideration to the cruelty aspects of the killing", ARA spokesperson Steve Smit said in a statement on Wednesday. A bull is killed during Ukweshwama as a symbolic way of thanking God for the first crops of the season. The ceremony was scheduled to take place next Saturday. Both ARA and Zwelithini's spokespersons were not immediately available to comment. |
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