Special licences mandatory for transporting livestock

Government has notified stricter rules for livestock transportation and made it mandatory for such vehicles to have special licences, a move aimed at curbing cruelty against animals.
The new rules -- Central Motor Vehicles (Eleventh Amendment) Rules, 2015 that will come into force on January 1, 2016 also makes it compulsory for such vehicles to have partitions for each animal.
"The motor vehicles for carrying animals shall have permanent partitions in the body of the vehicle so that the animals are carried individually in each partition," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a notification.
Specifying sizes for partition, the notification said, for cows and buffaloes the size of the partition should be two square metres, while for horses and mares, it should be 2.25 square metres.

For sheep and goats, it has specified size of 0.3 square metre, while for pigs it is 0.6 square metre. For poultry it would be 40 square centimetre.
"No motor vehicle meant for carrying animals shall be permitted to carry any other goods," the notification said.
It added, "The regional transport officer shall issue special licences for the motor vehicles meant for carrying animals on the basis of vehicles modified in accordance."
The rules were amended in exercise of the powers conferred on the Ministry under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.