Explained West Bengal Cattle Slaughter Ban Controversy How New Rules Have Hit Eid Cattle Trade Across State

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The BJP government in West Bengal, soon after coming to power, issued a public notice with which it brought into effect a 1950 law as well as a Calcutta High Court order from 2018, with which it has banned the slaughter of animals in the state below the age of 14 and without the certification of a vet.

As per the order, "No person shall slaughter any animal thereby meaning (bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, male and female buffaloes, buffalo calves and castrated buffaloes) unless he has obtained in respect thereof a certificate that the animal is fit for slaughter."

As per the notice, the chairman of a municipality or the head of a panchayat, along with a vet, can issue a joint certificate to designate an animal fit for slaughter.

This order has now caused much dismay to those in Bengal who depend on selling their cows ahead of Eid for a sizeable income. Cow markets across Bengal are now seeing stunted activity due to the new government order.

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In Polerhat Goru Haat, a cow market in Bhangar in South 24 Parganas, where nearly 2000 cows would be sold everyday before the order was passed, now only a couple of dozen cows can be seen, that too ahead of Bakr-i-Eid, as per a report by Indian Express.

What are the main issues being faced by cow sellers?

The most crucial issue has become determinig the age of the animal. There is no well-established mechanism that can help determine the age of the animals. Access to authorities for obtaining fitness certificates for each and every cow is also a daunting task.

One cow seller feeling the pinch told IE, "...I planned to sell nine of the 10 I had bought after borrowing ₹1 lakh from a bank and ₹5 lakh from a moneylender... Now I have heard only animals over 14 years old can be sold for slaughter, and with a fitness certificate. How will I know the age of my animal? Where will I get such a fitness certificate?... I don't know anything.”

While the cow markets are seeing low business, the sheep and goat market in Kolkata's Rajabazar is seeing good business. Sheep and goat have not been included in the list of animals in the government order, and although all animals require a vet's certificate for slaughter, the enforcement is stringent for goats and sheep.

The IE report reveals that the cost of beef has now soared in Kolkata from ₹280 to around ₹600 per kg.

Bhangar MLA writes to CM Suvendu

Naushad Siddiqui, the MLA from Bhangar and the leader of the Indian Secular Front (ISF), has written to Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari in this regard. In his letter, he has urged Adhikari to ensure that veterinary doctors are deployed at panchayat levels to provide the fitness certificates for these cows. Siddiqui brought to the CM's attention that the order has harmed both Hindus and Muslims of his constituency.

In his letter, Siddique also mentioned that“... Section 12 of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950 empowers the State Government to grant exemption for slaughter of animals for religious purposes”.

There is also confusion regarding the designated places where animals can be slaughtered during Eid. Senior Congress leader and former union minister Adhir Chowdhury has also written to the CM in this regard.

Chowdhury said the government should, "“identify and demarcate specific locations where people could practise customs associated with the religious faith they profess”.

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The Calcutta Beef Dealers' Association has pointed out that the state-owned slaughterhouse in Kolkata's Tangra has been shut for two days, leading to further price increases.“We were not served any notice. Only two animals (both buffaloes) are being slaughtered here every day now, that too to meet the needs of Kolkata Zoo,” a member of the association told the publication.

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