A reprieve for cattle traders in India

Court’s move to temporarily lift a ban on selling animals augurs well for the multibillion-dollar cattle industry

The decision by India’s top court to temporarily lift a ban on selling cattle is a welcome respite for the country’s multibillion-dollar cattle industry and an opportunity for the government to review the rationale behind the ban. While announcing the ban in May, the Indian government had argued that the rules framed by the environment ministry were based on the Supreme Court’s directives aimed at improving the condition of animals and preventing acts of cruelty against them.

In reality, however, critics highlighted the decision as an indirect attempt to ban beef by targeting livestock markets, where nearly all cattle for slaughter are sold. And a spate of attacks by increasingly assertive and violent cow vigilantes, mostly against Muslims and other minorities accused of transporting cattle or possessing beef, further exacerbated the problem.

For an agrarian society such as India, cattle hold more value than the simple sum of its products. A major source of emergency money for farmers in distress, for instance, is the informal finance and sale of cattle. Farmers are often faced with bartering their cattle due to a lack of formal insurance mechanisms or easier access to credit. Therefore, any legislation such as this must be preceded by mechanisms to mitigate the burden on affected traders and farmers. Other issues, such as the long-term impact on the Indian economy due to the cost of maintaining unproductive animals, must also be factored in. Finally, any revised legislation must be framed in the unambiguous context of protecting the fledgling rights of animals in India — which is indeed a matter of grave concern. Otherwise it might come across as yet another attempt to influence people’s choice of meat.