Lucknow: A day after state government's order to shut all illegal butcher shops and slaughter houses in the city, Lucknow Municipal Corporation swung into action and sealed nine meat shops in Mahanagar and Aliganj. Along with possession of licences issued by LMC, the butcher shops will also be reviewed on the parameters of Pollution Act, ground water conservation guidelines and Food Safety act.
As per LMC's estimate, along with 600 licensed meat shops, there are approximately 200-250 butcher shops that are running illegally. Animal rights activists, however, claimed there are more than 1,500 non-authorised meat shops in the city. Also, according to LMC there is no slaughter house in the city at present, there were four abattoirs till a couple of years back in Aminabad, Motijheel, Chikmandi and Kasaibada but they all were sealed in 2014-15 following the orders of Supreme Court.
This implies that only chicken, goat and sheep are butchered in the meat shops and no big animal is slaughtered in the city. Officials said all big animals are processed at the integrated slaughterhouses in Barabanki and Unnao and meat is brought to the city from there.
Second phase of the drive includes a survey of all eight zones to find out how many illegal shops are operating in the city.
The drive also found support from animal rights groups, which have been running a campaign against slaughterhouses and butcher shops that allegedly treat livestock cruelly before killing them for meat.
LMC's veterinary official Arvind Rao said, "The drive will be carried out till all illegal shops in the city are sealed. We are also planning to re-inspect all the four slaughter houses that have been sealed in past years."
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