New Delhi: The Union Environment Ministry yesterday modified the animal cruelty rules, making it mandatory to ensure the cattle are not bought or sold with a purpose of slaughtering. As the Ministry notified the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules-2017, it asserted that the aim is to regulate animal market and prevent cruelty.
The rules allow only farmland owners to trade at animal markets. The notification covers bulls, bullocks, cows, buffaloes, steers, heifers and calves, as well as the camel trade. To ensure the rules are implemented, undertakings will have to be taken in the market by ‘District Animal Market Monitoring Committee’ (at district level) and ‘Animal Market Committee’ at local level.
