March 4, 2020

Over 110 tonnes cow meat seized in Indian state in two years

In the past two years, more than 110 tonnes of cow meat was seized by India's Gujarat Police despite the state government claiming to have come out with stringent laws against the slaughtering of cows and illegal beef trade and transportation.

In March 2017, the state had announced that the slaughtering of cows and transportation of cow meat would be punishable by life sentence. Despite this, after almost three years of the announcement, the Gujarat government disclosed during the ongoing budget session of the assembly that the police had seized 100,490 kg cow meat, that is over 110 tonnes of illegal beef in the last two years. The maximum seizure was from Surat - 55,162 kg.

During the same time, the police also caught 3,462 cattle being illegally transported across the state. The maximum number, 747, was seized in Panchmahal district.

A number of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led states, including Gujarat, have tightened laws regarding cow slaughter since Narendra Modi came to power at the centre in 2014.