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

Ritual sacrifice of buffaloes in Nepal shaped Modi govt's slaughter rules

While there has been massive outrage over the new rules framed by the government banning sale of cattle for slaughter, the exercise to frame these rules started out to put an end to something happening in neighbouring Nepal. The government says 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. Maulekhi 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 India-Nepal border and was listed as a respondent in the case was asked to ensure that no unlicensed living cattle and buffaloes was 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, 2015. 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 the meetings, recommendations were submitted to court. Among the foremost was the complete overhaul of the Societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCAs) established in various states in India.

The report noted that SPCAs were either dysfunctional or that certain states had failed to set them up despite SC’s directions to do the same. One of them was to have a member of the SSB, the force that functions under the home ministry, in each SPCA in border districts. Others included ensuring greater involvement of the central government in animal welfare schemes.

One of the other recommendations was to involve the issue of the Gadhimai Mela and animal sacrifice in Nepal as an agenda in the meetings of paramilitary officials and joint secretary level Bilateral Consultative Group (BCG) meetings between India and Nepal.

It also called for intelligence collection on smuggling of animals along the India-Nepal border by enforcement agencies. Recommendations also included measures to be taken while disposing seized animals, transportation of animals and their rehabilitation.

But there are two particular recommendations that stand at the centre of the present controversy over the Modi government’s new rules. Both these recommendations also heavily inspired the framing of these new rules.  

One of them labelled ‘Restriction of Slaughter’ reads as following, “Apart from focussing on Gadhimai which happens every 5 years, all the small animal sacrifice events may also be summarily discouraged and illegal slaughter of animals be prevented by state governments. No animal slaughter may be permitted at any religious or public place and slaughter be allowed only in accordance with the Food Safety & Standards Act.”

The other one labelled ‘Regulation of Pashu Hatts/Melas’ reads as following, “Rules may be framed to regulate cattle markets to ensure that healthy cattle are being sold only for legally authorised purposes.”

The Modi government’s Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules 2017 ensure that both these recommendations are now translated into strong laws on the ground.

The new rules call for constitution of a District Animal Market Monitoring Committee with a District Collector as the chairman and six other members. This committee has been given sweeping powers to monitor every aspect of animal markets organised across India. It is in these unregulated markets that thousands of cattle are sold for slaughter.

The new rules also state that whoever purchases cattle at animal markets wouldn’t sell it for slaughter. None of the purchased cattle will be used for religious sacrifices.

In an indirect reference to Bangladesh and Nepal, the rules further state, “No animal market shall be organised in a place situated 25 kilometers from a state border or which is within 50 kilometers from an international border.”

It seems what started as an exercise to stop Indian buffaloes from being sacrificed to please gods in Nepal has ended up offending some people across India.