Centre, states to respond on protecting milch cattle

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre and the states on a plea for a ban on slaughter of milch cattle of the indigenous breed and taking other effective measures for their protection.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and M R Shah sought a response from the Centre and all states while hearing the petition filed by 83-year-old M C Rao, who contended that unauthorised slaughterhouses should be shut down and a compliance report must be filed before the court.

The petitioner relied on the National Commission for Cattle report submitted to the Centre by its acting chairperson Justice Guman Lal Lodha recently, which expressed serious concerns about the slaughter of milking cows and calves.

Rao challenged the validity of the National Green Tribunal's order of August 14, 2018 which disposed of the matter without issuing any specific directions, saying it was a common stand of the Centre and states that protection of indigenous was to be promoted.

He opined that “due to the indiscriminate slaughter of the progeny and simultaneous cross-breeding with exotic animals, their population has been reduced progressively to a drastic level”.

Among others, he sought a direction from the government to take necessary steps to carry out research in improving milk yield of indigenous cattle without resorting to cross-breeding and take immediate steps to save the critically endangered species of cow progeny with immediate effect.