Tuesday, March 19, 2024
News

Sri Lanka to amend laws to ban cattle slaughter

   SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend    Print this Page   COMMENT

Colombo | Thursday, 2021 1:15:06 AM IST
Sri Lanka's Cabinet of Ministers has approved to amend the existing laws to ban cattle slaughter in the island nation in a bid to increase local agriculture and dairy production.

The Cabinet has given nod to amend five laws before presenting the proposal in the Parliament.

The Cabinet had last year approved a proposal to ban cattle slaughter, and subsequently the legal draftsman amended the Cattle Slaughter Ordinance and four other related laws and regulations passed by the local government institutions connected to cattle slaughter.

"The Attorney General has certified that the said bills are not clashing with the provisions of the Constitution. Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to the consolidated resolution tabled by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government, and the Minister of Agriculture," Cabinet spokesman and Media Minister Dulles Alahapperuma told the media.

In February, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had said that Sri Lanka produced only about 40 per cent of the annual liquid milk demand and about 300,000 village level suppliers contribute to it.

Sri Lanka spends around $300 million annually for the import of powdered milk and due to the ongoing shortage of foreign exchange and dollar reserves over the last two months, the country is facing a crisis in dairy product supplies. Consequently, the government had to relax the norms to allow the private sector to go for price hikes for dairy products.

However, some legal and human rights analysts are of the view that the government's decision is not about helping the dairy industry, but a distraction against the enormous economic struggles faced by the people.

They also argued that the decision is politically motivated, taking a racist view against the cattle slaughter industry dominated by Muslim butchers.

However, Buddhists, which represent over 70 per cent of the population, and Tamil Hindus accounting for more than 12 per cent, avoid consuming beef for religious reasons. The rest of the population include over 9 per cent Muslims and nearly 6 per cent of Christians.

--IANS sfl/arm

( 360 Words)

2021-10-20-19:06:02 (IANS)

 
  LATEST COMMENTS (0)
POST YOUR COMMENT
Comments Not Available
 
POST YOUR COMMENT
 
 
TRENDING TOPICS
 
 
CITY NEWS
MORE CITIES
 
 
 
MORE ASIA NEWS
Pakistan: People across Karachi experien...
Pakistan: Scrutiny of nomination papers ...
Indian diaspora in Malaysia hails PM Mod...
Pak: Sindh police release daughters of a...
UAE President, World Central Kitchen CEO...
'Limited and misguided perspective': Ind...
More...
 
INDIA WORLD ASIA
Lok Sabha polls: Congress leader Rohan G...
Congress Working Committee to meet today...
Tamil Nadu: PMK announces alliance with ...
'Congress not getting candidates to cont...
Lok Sabha polls: BJP holds core committe...
Indian Navy's Remotely Piloted Aircraft ...
More...    
 
 Top Stories
BJP MLAs submit reply on breach of ... 
Cyber crime victims should dial hel... 
Popular Bollywood actors meet Uttar... 
Punjab CEO holds meeting with polit... 
US: Kamala Harris calls Donald Trum... 
Lok Sabha Polls: PMK to announce se... 
Thailand: People pay respects to ho... 
UAE joins International Atomic Ener...