West Bengal mandates certification for cattle slaughter

The newly elected government in West Bengal has issued a modified public notice under the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act of 1950, requiring mandatory certification before any cattle or buffalo can be slaughtered and restricting such activities to designated municipal slaughterhouses.

The notice, one of the first administrative actions by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's administration, stipulates that no bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, male or female buffaloes, buffalo calves, or castrated buffaloes may be slaughtered without a fitness certificate. This certificate must be issued jointly in writing by the chairperson of a municipality or the president of a panchayat samiti, along with a government veterinary officer. It confirms that the animal is over 14 years old and unfit for work or breeding, or permanently incapacitated due to old age, injury, deformity, or an incurable disease.

Slaughter is permitted only at municipal slaughterhouses or facilities specifically authorized by local authorities. Open or public spaces are prohibited. The rules also bar obstruction of inspections by authorized officials enforcing the act. Violations carry penalties of up to six months...