Centre stifles cattle trade with new regulations

The government has banned the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter at animal markets across India, rules that will hurt millions of poor farmers and squeeze supplies to the country’s meat industry.

The central regulation for cattle business notified this week allows only farmland owners to trade at animal markets. The notification covers bulls, bullocks, cows, buffalos, steers, heifers and calves, as well as the camel trade. The new rules do not amount to a blanket ban on cattle trade or their slaughter, and licensed breeding remains legal. But the move will crimp supplies to the country’s ₹1-lakh crore meat and allied industries which source about 90% of their requirements from animal markets. The regulation is silent on cattle sales by individuals, too. Experts say the rules will hurt Muslim meat and leather traders who face mounting violence at the hands of cow vigilante groups. Farmers will also be hit because they will be deprived of a traditional source of income from selling non-milch and ageing cattle.