Inside story behind modi govt's move to regulate cattle slaughter markets

Inside story behind Modi govt's move to regulate cattle slaughter markets

While there has been outrage over the new rules framed by the

government banning the sale of cattle slaughter, the exercise to frame these rules started out to put an end to something happening in neighbouring Nepal. The government is on record saying that the new Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules 2017 was conceived on the directions of the Supreme Court (SC). The SC, in turn, had set the ball rolling after a petition filed by Gauri Maulekhi, animal rights activist. Maulekhia told Business Standard, “The government has done the right thing by introducing these rules. Yet a lot of misinformed people are criticising this move. They should look at the despicable conditions in which animals meant for slaughter are treated at animal markets. I am completely happy with the new rules. If we have to be secure as a nation, we have to protect our livestock from the cattle mafia.�

Maulekhi’s petition seemed to have achieved what she hadn’t set out to achieve in the first place. “That is the beauty of a Public Interest Litigation. It doesn’t need to be confined to specifics. Although I wanted to put an end to ritual sacrifice of cattle in Nepal, the highest court directed that rules be framed for an end to barbaric treatment of animals at various markets where the organised mafia operates” said Maulekhi.

The petition sought the court’s intervention after pointing out that cattle was being illegally transported from Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal “across the India-Nepal border for a gruesome and barbaric ritual sacrifice at the Gadhimai festival held every five years in the village of Bariyapur, across the India-Nepal border. In a space of two days over 5 lakh animals are slaughtered making it the largest animal sacrifice in the world.”

The case was initially listed for hearing on October 17, 2014. In the very first hearing, the Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) which patrols the IndiaNepal border and was listed as a respondent in the case was asked to ensure that no unlicensed living cattle and buffaloes were transported across the border for the ritual sacrifice. The SSB filed an affidavit on November 20, 2014 telling the court that it had followed its directions on stopping cattle smuggling from India. This affidavit was filed after the court in a hearing on November 3, 2014 asked the SSB to ensure that its field units on the border ensured proper compliance and that its recommendations did not remain just on paper.

Another hearing was held on January 5, 2014. But the states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal, UP and Bihar which were also respondents in the case asked for more time to come out with a long-term solution to the issue. The court listed the matter for hearing on March 16, 2015. On this day, the court asked SSB to hold meetings with all these states and to “evolve a comprehensive future plan to effectively deal with the issue at hand.” The court asked the SSB and states to come back to it with a solution in a month. The then Director General (DG) of SSB Banshi Das Sharma held two meetings with the all the parties listed in the case to come out with a solution to be submitted in court. After multiple meetings recommendations were submitted to court.

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ARTICLE SOURCE – BUSINESS STANDARD