Cattle slaughter in India
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Cattle slaughter in India refers to the slaughter and consumption of bovine species in the country. It is a controversial practice due to the revered status of cattle among adherents of Dharmic religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.
Though it is an acceptable source of meat in Abrahamic religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, many Hindus abstain from consuming beef due to cattle's high regard in Dharmic divinity. The association reflects the importance of cattle in Hindu and Jain culture and spirituality, as cattle have been an integral part of rural livelihoods as an economic necessity across Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist societies, along with council-hoods in India. Cattle slaughter has also been opposed by various Indian religions because of the ethical principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) and the belief in the unity of all life. Legislation against cattle slaughter is in place throughout most states and union territories of India.
On 26 October 2005, the Supreme Court of India, in a landmark decision, upheld the constitutional validity of anti-cattle slaughter laws enacted by various state governments of India.
20 out of 28 states in India had various laws regulating the act of slaughtering cattle, prohibiting the slaughter or sale of beef. The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and West Bengal, and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Puducherry have no restrictions on cattle slaughter. The ban in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh was lifted in 2019. Meat on the bone, carcasses and half carcasses of buffalo are prohibited and are not permitted to be exported. Only the boneless meats of buffalo, goat, sheep and birds are permitted to be exported.
The laws governing cattle slaughter in India vary greatly from state to state. The "Preservation, protection and improvement of stock and prevention of animal diseases, veterinary training and practice" is Entry 15 of the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, meaning that state legislatures have exclusive powers to legislate the prevention of slaughter and preservation of cattle. Some states permit the slaughter of cattle with restrictions like a "fit-for-slaughter" certificate which may be issued depending on factors like age and sex of cattle, continued economic viability etc. Other states ban cattle slaughter outright, while the remainder have no restrictions. On 26 May 2017, the federal Ministry of Environment imposed a ban on the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter at animal markets across India, under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals statutes, although the Supreme Court of India suspended the ban on the sale of cattle in July 2017, giving relief to beef and leather industries.
According to a 2016 United States Department of Agriculture review, India has rapidly grown to become the world's largest beef exporter, accounting for 20% of the world's beef trade based on its large water buffalo meat processing industry. Surveys of cattle slaughter operations in India have reported hygiene and ethics concerns. According to the United Nations's Food and Agriculture Organization and the European Union, beef consumption per capita per year in India is the world's lowest amongst the countries it surveyed. India produced 3.643 million metric tons of beef in 2012, of which 1.963 million metric tons was consumed domestically and 1.680 million metric tons was exported. In 2012, India ranked fifth in the world in beef production and seventh in domestic consumption.