HC to probe illegal butchering of stray cattle

Are stray cattle impounded from city’s roads being illegally forwarded to butcher houses? Harish V Nair reports.

Are stray cattle impounded from city’s roads being illegally forwarded to butcher houses?

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The Delhi high court is examining this allegation made by NGO Citizens for Welfare and Protection of Animals.

Animal Welfare Board which is working in coordination with the MCD admitted in the court that the cattle pounds are in a precarious condition and there is no guideline for conducting auction of cattle.

Sonia Ghosh, founder member of the petitioner NGO, alleged in the court last week that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was committing gross violation of the auction rules as per which the owner of the cattle needed to be given some time to reclaim it after paying a fine but the animals are sometimes auctioned of within a span of 24 hours.

Noting that it was a serious issue, a bench of chief justice Dipak Misra and justice Sanjiv Khanna directed a joint team of MCD and Animal Welfare Board to inspect the cattle farms and pounds and submit a status report by August 24.