Rawhide supply crunch in UP leather units as illegal abattoirs shut down

Forty five organised slaughterhouses are not in a position to cater for the big demand for rawhide

Following stringent action and the subsequent closure of illegal abattoirs in Uttar Pradesh (UP) soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power last month, the roughly Rs 20,000-crore leather industry has been adversely impacted by short supply of rawhide.

Acting on the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT’s) directive to close illegal slaughterhouses in UP, thousands of unregulated and unregistered units, mainly manually operated, in thickly populated areas have been shut down.

Organised slaughterhouses, which export meat, are operating, they number roughly 45, and are not in a position to cater for the big demand for rawhide. This has virtually squeezed the