Despite interim High Court ban, camels brought to city for slaughter

The Madras High Court on August 18 banned camel slaughter in Tamil Nadu. This was after a PIL was filed by animal activists against the slaughtering of camels that are brought to the state especially during Bakrid. 

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan had banned the practice citing Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. October 17 has been slotted for further hearing. Animal activists say that these animals are made to travel through road for hours and are kept in poor condition. “It all started in 2013. According to the information gathered from the authorities through RTI, less than 10 camels were brought to Chennai in 2013; In 2014, around 25 camels were brought to the city and around 75 camels were slaughtered in 2015,” says G. Arun Prasanna, animal activist and the petitioner.

He points that these cattle are illegally transported from Rajasthan. “There are several violations while transporting these animals. “Animals have to be slaughtered in licensed slaughter houses but we found that they are killed in the open and also, there is no separate camel slaughter house in the city. Secondly, The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also banned the killing of camels and the consumption of camel meat. 

The camels brought to the city are purchased for RS 70,000 per animal. “We have brought these animals from Kota, Rajasthan and they travel for around seven days to be brought here. We have been doing this for many years. We are aware of the ban,” says a business who have brought these animals to Chennai, reiterating that the meat is not for sale but will be given to the underprivileged. When contacted, the police officials said that they haven’t received any order from the government.