The Central government may have banned the sale of cattle for slaughter by notifying the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, but enterprising cattle traders are looking to circumvent that ban by taking to online markets to peddle their wares! Online marketplaces like OLX and Quikr are replete with advertisements for the sale of cows that would otherwise remain unsold because of the government ban.
What is the government order?
The act does not exactly ban cow slaughter — something the Kerala High Court observed while hearing a PIL on Wednesday, May 31. Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has said of the PCA Act: "It is only to regulate the animal market and the sale of cattle in these markets, besides ensuring the welfare of cattle dealt in the market."
He added: "The seller and buyer [of cattle] have to ensure that the cattle has not been bought and sold in the market for slaughter purposes. An undertaking to this effect has to be given to the member secretary of the animal market committee from the seller and the buyer."
Order circumvented
Some cattle traders are apparently looking to circumvent that stipulation regarding the animal market committee by selling bovines online, where there is no panel to which any undertaking has to be given stating that the cow is being sold for purposes other than its slaughter.
Interestingly, the prices of these cows range from as high as Rs 6 lakh for a herd and Rs 3 lakh for a white cow to a mere Rs 1,000 for a brown-and-white bovine. The absence of the animal market committee also means that there is no check on the health of the cattle being sold online.
It may be pertinent to mention here that the Madras High Court has put a four-week stay on the Central government ban on the sale of cows for slaughter and asked it and the Tamil Nadu government to reply to notices it has sent to them. However, buyers and sellers seem to be in a hurry to dispose of their cattle, with new entries popping up every hour, if not at a more frequent rate!
