Meat sellers strike following crackdown in India

By Raghavendra Verma

- Last updated on GMT

Some butchers could struggle to meet new and improved hygiene standards
Some butchers could struggle to meet new and improved hygiene standards

Related tags Bharatiya janata party Beef Lamb Livestock Pork Poultry

Meat traders from India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, are on indefinite strike to protest the new Hindu nationalist state government’s forced closure of slaughterhouses and meat shops. 

Traders allege the government action specifically targets Uttar Pradesh’s minority Muslim community. “We are facing harassment,​” Mohammad Yusuf Qureshi, state president of All India Jamaat-ul-Quraish, a meat traders’ association, told GlobalMeatNews.

The problems have emerged following the victory by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state assembly elections held in March – the party had “promised during the election campaign that they will close down the abattoirs​”, noted Qureshi.

Hindu nationalist leaders allege that many of the targeted abattoirs routinely slaughter cows​, which is a criminal offence in the state of 204 million inhabitants, as cows are considered holy by Hindus. Qureshi claimed that soon after the new government took office on 19 March, officials were given verbal orders to be very strict with the meat industry, which is almost entirely run by Muslims (who make up about 19% of the population) and generate annual sales of US$2.6 billion.

Small butchers may struggle

It was an easy target because many meat businesses were operating without proper licences as previous administration was lax in processing documents, he said. “If they do not follow the rules, they have to be shut down,​” P K Singh, a health officer for the municipal corporation of state capital Lucknow told GlobalMeatNews​. The various requirements for securing government approval for operations as listed by Singh include demonstrating slaughterhouses are clean, have proper waste disposal, do not slaughter in the streets or near residences and (for retailers) do not hang meat outside their shops.

Small roadside butchers’ shops will struggle to meet these norms, although larger slaughterhouses have the capacity to improve. In Lucknow’s Motijheel slaughterhouse, visited by GlobalMeatNews​ after its closure on 23 March, conditions were grim. Situated in the middle of a graveyard, its walls were broken, its roof was crumbling, the place was full of flies and birds. There was no provision for liquid waste disposal and bones and dirt were scattered all around.

Qureshi said that it was unfair to expect butchers to maintain the abattoirs when their premises (as in this case) belonged to the municipal authorities. “An alternative arrangement should have been made before ordering their closure,​” he said. However, he admitted: “There have been some shortcomings at our end also.​” For that reason, he said that meat professionals from all over the state would assemble on 6 April in Lucknow, where they would be told to maintain hygiene and make structural changes to conform to the newly enforced norms at the earliest opportunity.

Health authorities do not expect that to happen immediately. “As soon as they do it, they will be allowed to restart the business,​” said Singh. “Let’s see if they manage it in 10 to 15 days.​”

Related topics Policy Supply chain Meat South Asia

Related news

Show more

Related product

How Korean culture penetrated the APAC food industry?

How Korean culture penetrated the APAC food industry?

Content provided by BIOSPRINGER, natural Yeast ingredients | 17-Jan-2024 | White Paper

Korean food is on-trend in Asia. We mainly find Korean taste in noodles, sauces & dressings, pickled condiments, ready meals and savory snacks.

2 comments

Future catastrophe

Posted by M khan,

India has world highest cattle figure in millions and highest rate of Tuberculosis and Footh & mouth disease. There will be
catastrophe in future with cattle growth and in case of famine situation. Few fanatic leaders took such decision in revenge with minority muslim people without thinking future catastrophe.

Report abuse

Accurate reporting

Posted by Dr. Ramesh V Bhat,

The report is factual. Risk based food inspection is yet to be initiated in India, which is a must for improving food safety. Though given a communal colour, the closure of illegal abattoirs is a right step for improving food safety in India

Report abuse

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars

Food & Beverage Trailblazers

F&B Trailblazers Podcast