11 April,2017 05:20 PM IST | | Rupsa Chakraborty
Animal activists say HC's ban on slaughter and possession of meat has led to cows and bullocks being killed on the outskirts and brought in
Did someone say the HC has banned people from being in possession of meat of cows, bulls and bullocks slaughtered within or outside the state? No matter. It is still being supplied to city restaurants from neighbouring areas. In the last two days, the police in Thane and Navi Mumbai seized 12,000 kg of beef being transported in trucks for processing in the city. Also, no provision for food safety was maintained either.
Meat of the matter
In March 2015, the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act banned the slaughter of bulls and bullocks in the state. The slaughter of cows and sale of cow meat has been illegal in the state since 1976; the new law extends the ban to calves, bulls and bullocks.
"The number of slaughter houses in Mumbai is few due to strict vigilance. Hence, these houses are mushrooming on the outskirts. They kill the cattle there and bring the meat here without any food safety measures," said Nirali Kodaria, an animal rights activist with People for Animals.
Bypassing rules
Cattle is being slaughtered in Kasai Wada, Jhindi Gate, Ahmednagar and then transported to the city. On April 8, a vehicle carrying 7,000 kg of beef was seized by the NRI police in Navi Mumbai. Similarly, on April 9, Kalyan Taluka police, Thane district, caught a truck carrying 5,000 kg of beef from neighbouring areas.
FIRs in both cases have been filed in the respective police stations. A whole lot of beef has been dumped in the dumping grounds as per process.
