Attacks on cattle trucks open up several fronts

Two weeks after attacks on cattle trucks, allegedly by right-wing activists, peaked near Kerala’s border districts of Palakkad and Wayanad, beef traders in the state are adopting familiar tactics of dissent and agitation. For a start, an indefinite shutdown has been called. But as the crisis snowballs into a severe shortage of beef supply in the market, there are also signs of tension near the state borders, specifically in the border regions near Palakkad and Coimbatore, over the issue of cow slaughter and its religious context.
Beyond the impact the crisis has on Kerala’s food menu – beef accounts for about 50 per cent of the state’s meat consumption – the issue is also about tolerance of diverse food preferences, according to beef merchants in the state. Cattle traders in Tamil Nadu and representatives of Kerala’s beef trade associations have already met to chalk out plans to resolve the crisis but critical intervention by the two state governments continues to be elusive.

Since early July, vehicles that transport cattle from Tamil Nadu into Kerala through Palakkad are being intercepted by people who identify themselves as animal rights activists. Sources say that there has been a pattern in these incidents: the “activists” confront the truck drivers on faulty procedures followed while they transport the cattle from livestock markets in Tamil Nadu.

They use force in letting the cattle “free”; later, these cattle are moved to makeshift goshalas (cattle shelters) constructed by the activists. Beef traders in Kerala, however, maintain that animal rights activism is a front and the attacks on cattle trucks also have a fundamentalist design. Further, there is the possibility of seized cattle being diverted into illegal livestock trade.

Hindu right-wing outfits, including the Tamil Nadu-based Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK), along with a group of animal rights activists, have led this combative stir that has cost lakhs of rupees to livestock traders there and beef merchants in Kerala. According to conservative estimates, Kerala requires about 2,500 tonnes of live animals to meet its daily consumption of beef.

Traders claim that government’s inaction on the issue could be traced to two aspects – corrective action carries the potential risk of stoking communal passions; also, any pro-trader move could trigger a fresh debate over standards maintained in transportation and slaughter. They also allege that in some of the cases, attackers demanded and received money from the truck drivers before allowing the cattle into Kerala.

For beef merchants who depend on livestock markets in the neighbouring states for over 80 per cent of their trade, these are alarming signs. P Sudhakaran, Thiruvananthapuram District President of the Kerala State Meat Workers’ Congress, calls it a “ban-like” situation that has severely hit tens of thousands of meat-stall workers. “There’s an obvious impact on the trade and connected businesses, like hotels. But a shutdown also means that thousands of families are hit because these workers are not trained for other jobs,” says Sudhakaran.

High prices
Beef traders in north Kerala have proposed stronger modes of agitation including protests against entry of vehicles carrying poultry and vegetables from other states. The price per kilogram of beef has passed Rs 320 in some districts; this is a high for the “common man’s meat”. “The price will rise further if the two state governments refrain from action against these criminal gangs,” says K M Ummer, vice-president of the Kerala State Beef Merchants Association.

According to Ummer, only about 10 per cent of the red meat in Kerala is sourced locally – “The supply will drastically come down; hotels have started looking at alternatives. The shortage has also led to an increase in prices of chicken and mutton,” he says. Against an average of 150 loads of cattle moved everyday into Kerala, the movement had dropped in July to below 10 loads a day. The attacks have now led livestock traders in Tamil Nadu to temporarily close down business.

New cattle farms that have come up in northern Kerala have only started to establish business while branded meat sold by the government-run Meat Products of India Ltd, cater to a limited market, according to beef traders. Sudhakaran points out that as a state not self-sufficient in sourcing the red meat, Kerala does not have a choice but to tackle trade disruptions on the border with a firm hand. The protesting activists, however, claim that their action is in adherence with the accepted guidelines on transportation of cattle.

Arjun Sampath, president of HMK, asserts that the issue is about animal rights and not cow slaughter or alleged attempts by Sangh-affiliated outfits to implement an unofficial prohibition on consumption of beef. “The traders who move cattle to Kerala for slaughtering don’t follow the regulations. They defy court orders, don’t carry mandatory documents and transport these animals in abysmal conditions; in a space for 30 animals, they bundle in 60. We are only countering them on these violations and handing over the cattle to the police who, in turn, put them in the goshalas,” says Sampath.

Activists challenge traders to approach the court and seek action against the “attacks”. Some of the beef merchants agree that there are violations in transporting cattle from other states. But the idea of combative activism outside of the law is lost on these traders. They allege Sangh-driven interests by pointing out that the concern is “selective” and activists are hostile only to ill-treatment of cows. Campaigners for the right to choice of food call it a new politics unfamiliar to a state that witnessed beef festivals to protest Maharashtra’s ban on cow-slaughter.