Will take stand after studying cattle slaughter rules: CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said his government will take an appropriate stand on the Centre’s decision to ban the sale of cattle for slaughter after going through the new rules.

The Karnataka government is yet to receive the notification issued by the Centre banning the sale of cattle for slaughter. He was speaking after paying tributes to former prime minister the late Jawahar Lal Nehru on his 51st death anniversary.

The Centre on Friday issued a notification finalising the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, which explicitly bans the sale of cattle for slaughtering. 

Official sources in the State Animal Husbandry Department said the Karnataka Agriculture Produce Marketing Regulation Act, 1966, allows sale of cattle, sheep, poultry in APMC yards. And the Act has not imposed any restrictions on the sale of cattle for any purpose. If the state government decides to implement the Centre’s new rules, steps will have to be taken to regulate the sale of cattle in APMCs and shandies in the state.

Besides, the state government has been implementing the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964. The government will consult legal experts before taking any step on the Centre’s decision.

Karnataka, which has been following an old law which was enacted some five decades ago, says milch cows and calves cannot be slaughtered. Section 15 of the Act extends protection of government officials who are assigned to execute the cow protection law.

However, Siddaramaiah some months ago, issued a statement that no institution or individuals can take law into their hands in the name of cow protection.