Eyeing Polls In Gujarat, Govt Is Likely To Lift Ban On Cattle Trade For Cow Slaughter

Faced with criticism and backlash from various corners, the Narendra Modi government is planning a rollback of its controversial notification, which restricted the sale of cattle, only to agriculture purposes, effectively banning cattle slaughter across the country.

According to The Indian Express, the Ministry of Environment and Forests took the decision after assessing the feedback from states on its May 23 notification on changes made to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules, 2017.

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The May notification had made it mandatory that only those who furnish a written declaration that the cattle will not be sold for the purpose of slaughter will be allowed to sell them. Upon the sale of cattle, the animal market committee will take an ¡°undertaking¡± that the animals are for agricultural purposes and not for slaughter.

Even the buyer will not be allowed to sell the animal for the purpose of slaughter nor ¡°sacrifice the animal for any religious purpose¡±.

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This meant that farmers who earlier used to sell their aged, unproductive cattle for slaughter could not do it anymore.

This had left the farmers with the additional burden of revenue loses and the additional burden of taking care for their unproductive bovine.

The sales ban was applicable on cows, bulls, buffaloes, steers, heifers and calves and camels.

Another area that suffered due to the ban was the slaughterhouses, despite the notification stating that slaughterhouses can still purchase cattle, they found the bovine a hard purchase.

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The tannery and leather industry which is also heavily dependent on the cattle trade also suffered losses worth millions.

Amid the protesters from all these groups and the legal challenge from states like Kerala and West Bengal the government withdrew the order temporarily after the Madras High Court stayed it, which forced the ministry to revise its order.