WE ARE sharing our thoughts in this column on the Pasungay event in San Joaquin, Iloilo which has been cancelled as a fiesta event because of the objection by the Animal Kingdom Foundation.
For a few years now, the pasungay of carabaos in the Municipality of San Joaquin was a regular feature of their town fiesta. It was great fun for hundreds of people that are attracted to the sport when their fiesta celebration comes.
Pasungay, whether by carabaos or cows, is fun. In fact, bull fighting is a national sport in Spain. They provide a big arena for bull fights attended by thousands of people.
We used to be a farm boy in our early years because we lived in the farm. We tended a cow and carabao of our own. Pasungay is a regular sport when we met with other boys who were also tending their own farm animals.
Whoever passed this law prohibiting animal fights like the Pasungay of San Joaquin has not lived in the farm. Pasungay is a common past time among farm boys tending cows or carabaos.
Having lived in the farm in our early years and tended also animals of our own, we remember that we met with other farm boys and pasungay of animals in our care was of great fun. It was true that sometimes wounds were suffered by the animals in the encounter but they were just superficial and no record of any carabao or cow dying because of such injuries.
We are even allowing cockfighting which is very brutal fowl game because it always ends up with the fighting cock dead or totally disabled and ready for sumsuman after every encounter.
Whoever is this guy or gal from the Animal Kingdom Foundation that objects to the pasungay sports must be invited to witness one during the next town fiesta of San Joaquin and see how hundreds of people are excitingly enjoying the sports. We bet that he/she might be also be carried away by the joyous reaction of the crowd.
Why stop this long traditional sport in the farming sector that rely on cows or carabaos for their farming for people to have a little fun during the off-season and witness a pasungay during the town fiesta? This is a regular activity in the farm from among those who have working animals. Every time there is a new male cow or carabao in the herd the pasungay is the next fun event among the bakeros or boys in the farm.
Pasungay is fun and let us invite everyone to the event, including members of the Animal Kingdom Foundation when the next fiesta comes and prove that there is no record of fatality on the animals involved, except a few bruises which are treated right after the encounter. The animal encounter always ends with one of them running away from the fight, once it gets hurt or cannot cope with it.
It is just a once-a-year event which people enjoy during the town fiesta. There is no record of any carabaos or cows killed in encounter. Why do we have to stop it? It is all fun including the time when the animals run with one chasing another.
What is important is that spectators are safely fenced and separated from the fighting area of the animals.
If people enjoy the sport and they have fun, why should we stop it? It has been a major feature of the fiesta of San Joaquin town in Iloilo.
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GEM OF THOUGHT
“Banker: A fellow who lends you an umbrella when the sun is shining but would get it back promptly when it starts to rain.” (For comments or re-actions, please e-mail to jnoveracompany@yahoo.com)/PN
