Butchering the Illegal Meat Industry in India: UP Meat-Bandi

The Yogi Adityanath government has been in action since its ascension. The crackdown on illegal meat butchers is what has captured the attention of the state now. Many vendors of the meat industry went on an indefinite strike. Their demand was an alternate system or continuation of the existent system in the meat industry. The meat industry in India is a huge industry with UP alone catering to 19% of the total output of the country. Then how did this state get affected because of the crackdown?

The problem is the proliferation of the illegal vendors. This is a nexus that is created in the society because of the greed of the government-run meat processing centers. Majority of the government-run meat centers in UP export the meat to various other countries at a very low price. This gives rise to the demand of the meat and the illegal butchers utilize this opportunity. The majority of the local suppliers supply the meat at a low cost to restaurants and hotels and street vendors. The street vendors are ready to pay the low price that the vendor offers as this will only increase their profits.

But a complete stop on this industry is illogical. The government needs to formulate strict guidelines for dealing with illegal butcher shops and help people who are willing to get a license. The problem is not the people who are just willing to make a living, rather the people who are trying to make profits by taking advantage of the system. Also the government-run processing centers must cater to the local requirements first before exporting the produce. 

This is important in a way even for vegetarians because a rise in illegal butcheries means rise in the demand for cattle. This also means less fodder per unit of cattle. And this means very less fodder for milch cattle. This will result in low milk production. There is also the matter of illegal export of cattle from India to Bangladesh which hampers the supply in the country.  Moreover the condition of the cattle at these illegal meat-processing centers is not acceptable according to ethical code of butchering an animal. Lack of proper equipment and untrained personnel at these centers also results in an unhygienic meat produce.

Moreover, this is not just a matter of an industry’s existence but it is also the matter of following the rule of law. The same case in any other country like the USA or any Middle Eastern Gulf country would never even hit the headlines of the next day’s newspaper. The people will never even dare to do anything illegal in a foreign country but the same people don’t care about the law of their own land. This hypocrisy can compete even with that of the politicians in the country who we blame. But we must remember that ‘To err is human’; but to make it right, is human too.