Kerala High Court supports Centre's move to ban sale of cattle for slaughter

In a setback to beef protests, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday backed the Central government’s new regulation on cattle slaughter saying the order was misread by the protesters. According to Times Now, the state high court said the order does not ban the consumption of beef hence they are supportive of the order.

In a bid to prevent cruelty to animals, the Union environment ministry on 26 May modified rules making it mandatory to ensure that cattle are not bought or sold at cattle markets for slaughter. The list of animals includes cows, bulls, buffaloes, heifers, calves as well as camels.

Ever since the notification, there have been widespread protests in various states, especially Kerala, one of the states where cow slaughter is not banned. Forest and animal husbandry minister P Raju had said the new law cannot come into effect in Kerala.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the only party in Kerala which accepted the central government’s directive on cattle slaughter. “The new law has been misunderstood by the other parties,” BJP state general secretary K Surendran said.

A report by the  Hindustan Times  said the price of beef had shot up since the Central government’s new order on cattle slaughter triggered a political row.

Hotel owners said a kilogram of beef usually costs between Rs 220 to Rs 240 in Kerala but the price has gone up to Rs 280 to Rs 300 in the last two days.

The Hindustan Times report also said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all his counterparts saying the decision was against the federal structure of the country. On Wednesday morning, Vijayan said they would like to see if the Centre has the power to issue such a directive to the states.

With inputs from IANS