The Penang Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) said the chariot should be drawn by devotees, aided by a pushback tug, instead.

The use of bulls by the Chettiars to draw the 128-year-old silver chariot in the 7km procession from their temple in Little India to the hilltop temple along Waterfall Road and back had sparked controversy when animal rights activists alleged that they were being ill-treated.

They said it was against federal animal protection laws.

HEB chairman P Ramasamy said the board had banned the use of bulls to draw its golden chariot — the second chariot used in the celebrations — two years ago.

Ramasamy, who is also deputy chief minister II, said the use of bulls to pull chariots was an old practice.

He said instead of bulls, the chariot could be drawn by devotees using ropes, and aided by a pushback tug, if necessary.

“Last year, the bulls used to draw the silver chariot were seen staggering. They could not even walk. Are the Chettiars going to do the same this year?

“I call on them to stop it because it is cruel. You cannot defend something as a tradition when you are inflicting cruelty on animals.

“If they persist, the board can take action against them,” he told FMT.

Ramasamy said it was “unacceptable” for the Chettiars to say the bulls were like “mothers to us” in justifying the use of the animals.

Yesterday, A Narayanan, a trustee of the Nattukottai Chettiar temples, said the silver chariot had traditionally been drawn by bulls and replaced with other bulls on standby from time to time to prevent them from becoming exhausted.

“The chariot has been traditionally drawn by bulls, and they are like ‘mothers’ to us,” he was quoted by The Star Online as saying.

Ramasamy said the state Veterinary Services Department had carried out an investigation last year following a police report.

He claimed political intervention by certain parties had prevented any action against the Chettiars.

“We would like to offer the Chettiars our spare tug machines for a small fee. Just stop using bulls to draw your chariot. If the bulls are like ‘your mothers’, you would not ill-treat them, right?”

Last year, a video showing two bulls struggling to draw the 7.6-tonne silver chariot resulted in an outcry from animal activists.

The Chettiars denied they had mistreated the animals, saying 26 bulls were on standby to take turns to move the chariot.

FMT has contacted the Chettiars for comments and is awaiting their reply.