Under the 2010 bill, slaughter of cows, calf of a cow and bull, bullock, buffalo male or female and calf of a she-buffalo is prohibited.
Bengaluru: The B.S. Yediyurappa government will bring in a stringent version of a contentious anti-cow slaughter law that it had moved in 2010 but couldn’t get passed, Karnataka Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chouhan said Saturday.
The government will make every effort to get the bill passed in the next assembly session, Chouhan told ThePrint.
“Safeguarding cows in Karnataka has been one of the top priorities of the BJP. There will be a complete ban on consumption of beef,” Chouhan said. “Every effort will be taken to ensure that the bill is passed in the next assembly session. It is mentioned in our election manifesto and we plan to fulfill that promise.”
The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010, provided for a blanket ban on cow slaughter, consumption, sale and transport of beef in the state. It also prescribed a maximum seven-year jail sentence for offenders, said Chauhan.
According to the bill, slaughter of cows, calf of a cow and bull, bullock, buffalo male or female and calf of a she-buffalo is prohibited.
The bill this government plans to introduce will be much more stringent and violators will be dealt with severe punishment, Chauhan said.
He added that once the Covid-19 crisis settles down, the government plans on sending a team to Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to study how the anti-cow slaughter law has been successfully implemented there. “We will try and find a way of stricter implementation of the law in our state,” he said.
Chauhan claimed the government also plans to launch ambulances dedicated to the treatment of animals across the state.
Currently, the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964 is in effect in the state. It permits slaughter of non-milch cows and diseased cattle that are over 12 years of age.
