New Delhi: In a move aimed at curbing cattle slaughter, the Environment Ministry has banned sale of cattle from marketplaces for the purpose of culling.
The notification defines “cattle” as bovine animals, including bulls, cows, buffaloes, steers, heifers and calves and camels. Animal market is defined as a “market place or sale-yard or any other premises or place to which animals are brought from other places and exposed for sale or auction and includes any lairage adjoining a market or a slaughterhouse”.
Additionally, gaushalas, animal welfare organisations etc, which are giving up cattle for adoption, will have to provide an affidavit that the animals will be used for agricultural purposes and not for slaughter. In the case of draught and pack animals, they will have to give a similar undertaking.
There are questions as to how does the central government effectively prohibit cattle slaughter across India when livestock is a state subject.
Section 37 of the 1960 act is about the delegation of powers where the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, direct that all or any of the powers exercisable by it under this Act, may, subject to such conditions as it may think fit to impose, be also exercisable by any state government.
Thereafter, Section 38 gives the central government the power to make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
It was in January 4, 2017, that there were deliberations on a possible law banning beef and cow slaughter and the Union environment ministry had asked the agriculture ministry to explore the option of enacting a national law to prohibit slaughtering of cow, selling of beef or beef products.
However, the Supreme Court in January, this year, while hearing a PIL to ban nationwide cow slaughter declined to entertain it as it was a “state subject”.
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