The 'Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organization' (FIAPO) has compiled a list of illegal shops in South Delhi where animals are slaughtered mercilessly without following specific rules.
A senior official of FIAPO said that the slaughterhouse rules under the 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, the food safety and standards regulations 2010, pollution control norms and municipal rules for registration were found being violated with impunity.
He further said that some of these violations, for instance, running a meat shop without Food Safety registration and that is punishable with imprisonment for six months and fine of up to Rs 5 lakh. “Meat shops in these areas which are only supposed to sell meat were also found slaughtering animals. There were no proper facilities for hygienic disposal of waste or processing of meat,” he said.
South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is all set to crack down on illegal butcher shops operating without following norms and approval from the authorities; Standing Committee Chairman Bhupendra Gupta said.
Varda Mehrotra, Director of the FIAPO said “Thousands of animals suffering in illegal meat shops and slaughterhouses have a fresh ray of hope with people speaking up for them. We appeal to the local body and food safety department to take serious note of the complaints and initiate action in the interest of the lives of animals and humans alike.”
“The illegal shops are running in areas around INA market, Chattarpur, Bengali Macchi Market (South Delhi), Chirag Delhi besides other. A complains has also been registered with the local body and food safety department in the capital,” he informed.
“It was observed that birds were cut up before they were even dead; live birds were kept in utmost cramped and unhygienic conditions; large animals were also being slaughtered in shops and even basic paperwork was absent. Diseased birds were kept with healthy ones and there was no food, water or veterinary care provided,” he said.
Abhishek, a resident said “I am fed up of the municipality's inaction on the issue. I had complained to them earlier as well, but neither they nor the media took the issue seriously as I was the lone person speaking on the issue. However, now that many people like me have complained, I am hopeful that action will be taken on them soon.”
“The unauthorised slaughterhouses use dead and diseased animals, adding that public health is suffering because of the unhygienic conditions. “People are falling sick and there are many general health problems associated with these shops,” he said,” he said.
According to the experts, eating such meat is not safe as illegal slaughtering is carried out without any check on hygiene and sanitation.
''Most of the illegal slaughtering takes place inside the houses of the butchers. No step is taken by them to ensure that an area is disinfected before carrying out slaughtering. The animal being slaughtered might carry some disease and there is no way of ascertaining this in the absence of veterinary doctors. Moreover, the blood of a slaughtered animal might have a bacterial growth and might pass on to the next animal slaughtered on the spot. A person consuming the meat might also get a stomach infection. The effects could be much worse,'' they said.