"I was very happy to learn from my friends in PETA that Jallikattu (a bull taming sport) is now illegal as are other cruel uses of bulls for performance, such as bull racing, via a notification by your ministry," John wrote in the letter to the minister.

"During Jallikattu, bulls are deliberately terrorised and made to suffer for entertainment. They are taunted by crowds, pushed, hit and wrestled to the ground," he said.

Last year the ministry issued a notification which banned the use of bulls as performing animals – thereby banning Jallikattu, a famous bull taming sport in Tamil Nadu.

The organisers of Jallikattu has moved a petition in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court challenging the ban.