The state government on Wednesday made it mandatory to obtain a fit-for-slaughter certificate before slaughtering bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, buffaloes, buffalo calves and castrated buffaloes.
The notice barred public slaughter of these animals and said officials carrying out inspections to enforce the order should not face any obstruction.
Many of the provisions were already in place.
Unlike some earlier notices, the public notice does not mention any exemption for slaughter for religious, medicinal or research purposes.
“No person shall slaughter any animal, thereby meaning bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, male and female buffaloes, buffalo calves and castrated buffaloes, unless he has obtained in respect thereof a certificate that the animal is fit for slaughter,” the notice issued by the home and hill affairs department states.
The chairman of a municipality or the sabhapati of a panchayat samity and a government veterinary surgeon will issue a joint certificate for an animal’s slaughter only if “they are both of the opinion, to be recorded in writing, that the animal is over 14 years of age for work or breeding or the animal has become permanently incapacitated due to age, injury, deformity or any incurable disease”.
If the certificate is denied, the applicant can appeal to the government within 15 days of being informed of the refusal.
An animal with a certificate cannot be slaughtered in an open place. Such slaughtering in any open public place “shall be strictly prohibited”, the notice says.
An animal certified fit for slaughter must be taken to a municipal slaughterhouse or any other slaughterhouse designated by the local administration.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) operates four slaughterhouses for pigs, sheep and goats.
The civic body plans to modernise slaughterhouses and implement mechanised systems to ensure hygienic meat production and reduce environmental impact.
“Nobody shall resist inspection of any premises by a person authorised by the chairman of a municipality or the sabhadipati of a panchayat samity or the government veterinary surgeon for implementing the provisions of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act 1950,” the notice says.
Violators can face up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to ₹1,000, or both.