No records to beef up illegal animal slaughter data in UP

The state of Uttar Pradesh – where the issue of illegal slaughterhouses has suddenly come into focus – is a market leader in the production and export of meat in the country.

No wonder then that nearly 1.10 crore animals are “legally” butchered in the country every year.

There is no record of illegal animal slaughter (said to be rampant) and the quantity of meat produced from animals butchered illegally. Also, since cow slaughter is banned in the state, beef production is not accounted for in official records.

Basic Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Statistics, 2014, a report prepared by the union ministry of agriculture every year, shows UP as the largest producer of meat in the country contributing more than 19% to India’s total meat production followed by Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

Significantly, from 2008-09 to 2013-14, UP has consistently topped in the production of meat and was among nine states that achieved 100% meat production target set by the state/central government.

The category-wise analysis of meat production shows that average production from buffalo is the highest in UP with 0.516 million tonnes per year. Meat produced from pig is also highest in the state with 0.172 million tonnes per year.

In production of goat meat, UP is next only to West Bengal while it comes on sixth and seventh positions in meat production from poultry and sheep, respectively.

During 2012-2013, Delhi showed the highest annual growth rate of meat production at 79.8% followed by Uttarakhand where it was 34.8%. Uttar Pradesh stood on seventh spot registering a growth of 19.0% during the same period.

Beef contributes the least to the country’s total meat production. In the country, nearly 45% meat is contributed by poultry alone. Other contributors include buffalo (19%), goat (16%), pig (7%), sheep (5%) and cattle (5%).

Over a dozen states, including UP, where cow slaughter is banned, do not give figures of the cattle slaughtered and meat produced from them. This is said to be the reason for the lowest share of cattle meat (beef). “We do not have and we cannot have any official data on the production of cattle meat in the state since cow slaughter in prohibited here,” said a senior officer in the state animal husbandry department.