Ban on cattle for slaughter not meant to control 'food habits': Centre

New Delhi: Reiterating the government's stand on its order on ban on sale of cattle for slaughter, Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the rules have not been formed to change or control anybody's food habits, nor will it affect the slaughter business.

"We have clearly mentioned that the rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act have not been formed to change or control anybody's food habits, nor affect slaughter business,” he said.

“Despite this, if people have misconceptions about it, we have asked for suggestions that have been submitted and will be contemplated upon. It is not a prestige issue for us," he further added.

The union minister further said that there have been conspiracies to spread wrong word about the rule among certain sections.

"We have clearly mentioned that some rules have been notified as per the Supreme Court's verdict under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. There have been ill-efforts to spread confusion, misunderstanding, misconception in some sections of the society," he said.

There has been wide opposition to the Central government's order, with many states openly denying acceptance of the notification.

In some places, people even hosted 'beef fests' to protest against the Centre's decision. A beef fest was organised by IIT-Madras opposing the same.

Similarly, the Karnataka, Kerala and Tripura governments have said they will not implement the Centre's order.

Harsh Vardhan has said that the ministry’s notification of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 is to ensure that the sale of cattle is not meant for slaughter purposes.

He said the seller and buyer both have to ensure that the cattle is not being bought or sold across the country's livestock markets for slaughter purposes.

The rules also state that the purchaser shall not sacrifice the animal for any religious purpose or sell it to a person outside the state without permission and must keep it with the state's cattle protection laws.