Kochi: Kerala Muslim Jamaat Council has moved Kerala High Court against the Union government's order banning the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets.
It argued that the new rule will affect the religious obligation to sacrifice animals on the day of the Eid al-Adha.
A. Pookunju, its president, moved the court arguing that Kerala doesn't have sufficient animal farms or breeders to meet the needs of mahallas for the sacrifice on the second Eid, which comes two months later. Usually, cattle was brought into the state from Tamil Nadu.
The recent regulation prevents the community from exercising their religious obligation, the petition said. Beef is part of Kerala's food habit. Muslims refrain from slaughtering cows as a mark of respect and deference to the religious sentiments of communities and faiths who consider cow as a holy animal not be killed or sacrificed.
With the regulation, freedom of inter-state trade and commerce in cattle is violated. The petitioner also pointed out that animal sacrifice on the day of Eid is an integral part of the religion.
