The Chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India has written a letter to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India saying that rabbits are a threatened species and its meat cannot be consumed.
Protesting against plans to include 'rabbit' in the list of 'hygienic and legal meats,' the Chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has written a strong letter to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
PROTECTED SPECIES
In a letter dated August 9, Major General RM Kharb of AWBI has informed FSSAI that 'Leporids' (rabbits and hare) are, in fact, protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. He has also stated that two of its existing species in India are categorised under the 'IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List' of threatened species.
Mail Today had reported on July 27 the government's decision to name 'Leporids' as the fifth category of meat that can be legally consumed in India. The existing four are: Ovines (sheep), caprines (goat), suillines (pig) and bovines (the cattle family, including buffalo and bison). The move came, apparently, after pressure from the 'rabbit farm' lobby in Kerala, Goa and Jammu and Kashmir. The small mammal is reared in these states for meat and fur.
The changes would be made in law in the form of an amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
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