E-Paper
Bird flu: Delhi HC to hear PIL for ban on slaughtering chicken at Ghazipur mandi
The petition claimed that the market is a hub of illegal slaughter after an alert was sounded for bird flu in the city.
The Delhi High Court will hear a plea on Tuesday seeking immediate ban on “illegal slaughter of birds” in Ghazipur Murga Mandi or Ghazipur chicken market in east Delhi.
The petition claimed that the market is a hub of illegal slaughter after an alert was sounded for bird flu in the city.
The plea, which has been filed in a pending Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by animal right activist Gauri Mauleki, has contended that the Ghazipur Murga Mandi near the border with Uttar Pradesh has been an epicenter of avian flu in the past due to the unchecked transportation and slaughter of lakhs of birds coming from various states.
The plea filed through advocate Priyanka Bangari has said that the action plan for Prevention, Control & Containment of Avian Influenza (Revised 2015) provides that the live bird markets including wet markets particularly at the border areas is at high risk for Avian Influenza.
It said that the Ghazipur Murga Mandi, is the “biggest illegal chicken slaughter hub of Delhi which functions in complete disregard to law and follows no veterinary health check protocols”.
“More than 2 lakh birds that are brought into this market daily are not screened for any disease. No ante mortem or post mortem is performed nor are any health records of the birds maintained. No backward or forward linkage of the birds and their carcass is maintained,” the plea read.
The petition has also claimed that birds are slaughtered in the livestock market which is meant for trade of live birds, in an unhygienic and appalling manner.
“This place is not only an illegal slaughter area but also a breeding ground for pathogens and diseases. That unhygienic conditions in which the Ghazipur Murga Mandi operate in absence of any health check of birds, Avian Influenza can easily spread in this market and could impose severe danger to public health and safety,” it said.
The plea has sought implementation of the suggestions of a sub-committee which had inspected the Ghazipur market.
