The Bengaluru civic body on Friday issued a circular banning the sale of meat and prohibiting animal slaughter across Bengaluru on Sunday, April 10 on the occasion of Ram Navami. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said in its order that meat shops and slaughterhouses which come under its purview would remain shut on Sunday.
Prior to this, the BBMP had banned the sale of meat on Gandhi Jayanti and Maha Shivratri. The joint director of the animal husbandry department of BBMP said there will be a blanket ban on slaughterhouses, animal slaughter and the sale of meat on Rama Navami.
Citing it as a routine order, a BBMP official said there is a ban on the sale of meat and animal slaughter every year on Rama Navami, Gandhi Jayanti, Sarvodaya Day and other religious events. He added that there is a blanket ban on these practices at least eight days of the year on various occasions.
Earlier, the Karnataka Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department had asked the BBMP to direct all slaughterhouses and chicken shops in the city to ensure that animals are "stunned" mandatorily, before they are slaughtered for meat. It asked the civic body to check the stunning facility, while issuing licences for slaughterhouses and chicken shops.
Though such a communication is said to be a routine affair, it came amidst controversy around right-wing groups giving a call to boycott 'halal' meat amidst Ugadi festivities.
Citing the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, in a letter dated April 1, the Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Bengaluru Urban district, had written a letter to BBMP for ensuring stunning of animals before they are slaughtered for meat.
Stating that the department has received complaints from the public that the rules are not being followed, it asked BBMP to direct all slaughterhouses and chicken shops in the city to make sure that animals are stunned mandatorily and are unconscious, before they are slaughtered.
Further, asking the civic body to check about the stunning facility while issuing licences for slaughterhouses and chicken shops, it asked the BBMP to report to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Bengaluru Urban, about the action taken.
Recently some right-wing groups had given a call to boycott 'halal' meat, ahead of 'varshadodaku', the day after Ugadi, when many communities in the state have a non-vegetarian feast.
With PTI inputs