PETA asks for illegal slaughterhouses’ closure

Says there are more than 30,000 illegal, unlicensed units in India

Panaji: The People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has urged States and Union Territories (UTs) to follow the action taken by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan governments to shut down illegal slaughterhouses.

The organisation, along with others, has filed a series of petitions in the Supreme Court and other courts between 2004 and 2017 against illegal treatment of animals during transport and slaughter. In a statement issued on Friday, it claimed that in addition to ordering a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, the apex court called upon States and Union Territories (UTs) to set up enforcement committees to monitor treatment of animals that are used for meat and leather. However, it said most States and UTs had failed to report to the court about the compliance action taken by them.

Shambhavi Tiwari of PETA India said they have urged States and UTs to close down slaughterhouses that aren’t licensed and which continue to use cruel practices that are prohibited by law, as per the SC order.

The organisation had earlier written to the Central government, State governments, and UTs, urging them to immediately implement provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, pertaining to establishment and functioning of slaughterhouses. They say there are still many unregistered slaughterhouses in the country.

“It has been estimated that there are more than 30,000 illegal, unlicensed slaughterhouses in India, although, cruelty to animals is also rampant in licensed facilities,” the statement read. “To make matters worse, the leather industry has no system in place to ensure that skins are not obtained from illegal slaughterhouses.”

The organisation had also asked for implementation of provisions of Central Motor Vehicles (Eleventh Amendment) Rules, 2015, which provides for special requirements in motor vehicles that transport livestock. Nikunj Sharma of PETA said, “[Slaughterhouses] continued to use general vehicles for transport of animals or did not bother to take permissions needed from municipal authorities for special vehicles.”

The organisation said that during various surprise inspections carried out by the authorities, in presence of PETA India and People for Animals’s activists, “huge atrocities, showing unlawful cruelty to animals” were noted as being common even at modern facilities. It also claimed that a legally required facility, which renders animals unconscious before being slaughtered, was not being carried out on sheep or buffaloes.

Call for veganism

PETA India has urged people to go dairy-free as well by drawing their attention to the beef industry’s link with the dairy industry.

The organisation’s Chief Executive Officer, Poorva Joshipura, is of the opinion that people who do not want to support animal suffering must decide to live a vegan lifestyle. She said, “At most slaughterhouses, workers hack animals’ throats with dull blades. Skinning and dismembering often begin while they are still alive, and in full view of other animals.”

PETA India aims to remind people that killing animals for food and leather contributes to water pollution, land degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, it said that consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy foods contributes to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.