KARNATAKA'S COW SLAUGHTER BAN

1. Context 

2. About Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020

• The law came into force in 2021 after being passed in the state legislative assembly and council amid objections by the opposition parties.
• It is a stringent law to restrict the slaughter of all forms of cattle in the state.
• The 2020 law repealed and replaced the less stringent Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, of 1964 which has been in the state since then.
• While the 1964 law banned the killing of “any cow or calf of she-buffalo” it allowed the slaughter of bullocks, and male or female buffalos if certified by a competent authority to be above the age of 12 years, incapacitated for breeding, or if deemed sick.
• Under the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, cattle have been designated as “cow, calf of a cow and bull, bullock and he or she buffalo” and their slaughter is banned.
• The only exemptions are buffaloes above the age of 13 years and certified by a competent authority, cattle used in medical research, cattle certified for slaughter by a veterinarian to prevent the spread of disease and very sick cattle.
• The new law has also increased punishment for breaking the law, to the range of three to seven years of jail, or fines ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh or both.
• As per the 1964 law, the maximum punishment was for a period of up to six months of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 1000.
• The new law also prescribes punishments for the illegal transport of cattle, sale of meat and purchase or disposal of cattle for slaughter namely, a prison term of three to five years, and a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh.

3. Reasons for the introduction of the law

• The ban on cattle slaughter has been a prominent demand of the RSS, the VHP and others.
• These groups have viewed cattle especially the cow in a religious rather than an agrarian context.
• Between 2008 and 2013 the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010.
• The 2010 law however did not receive the assent of the Governor, and the Congress party, which came to power in 2013 reverted to the less stringent 1964 law, which allowed cattle slaughter on a limited basis especially those classified as being old, sick or unproductive on farms.
• In December 2020, the government tabled and passed the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020 in the state assembly while the opposition walkout. 

• In February 2021, the bill was passed by the legislative council.

4. Repercussions of the 2020 Law

• The agrarian economy has been majorly impacted by the 2020 law, especially in southern Karnataka, where cattle is an integral part of livelihood in terms of dairy farming and agriculture.
• Farmers have been up in arms over the ban on cattle slaughter, and there have been widespread complaints in the farming communities that the ban on cattle slaughter has deprived farmers of alternatives when cattle fall sick or turn unmaintainable.
• Traditional cattle markets have been slowly shutting down and there were few merchants to buy cattle.
• Moreover, there have also been incidents of rightwing cow vigilantes who are granted immunity under the new law taking the law into their own hands to prevent the transportation of cattle for slaughter to states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu.