At Delhi slaughterhouse, cattle 'electrocuted' instead of being stunned
New Delhi: In a shocking case of animal rights violation, cattle at a slaughterhouse in east Delhi were found to be allegedly electrocuted rather than being 'stunned' before their slaughtering.
In a surprise inspection at the Ghazipur slaughterhouse, East Delhi Mayor Satya Sharma has also claimed to have found many buffaloes and sheep suspended upside down from hooks while they were still conscious.
"In slaughterhouses, 'stunning' – a process of rendering the animals unconscious before killing them – is followed, but not in this case. Buffaloes were being electrocuted by placing a live wire on their body, before slitting their throat," Sharma said.
During the inspection on August 10, the mayor was accompanied by Additional Commissioner EDMC, C A Dhan, Delhi Slaughterhouse Monitoring Committee member Gauri Maulekhi, and a few animal rights experts.
"Besides, we also found that buffaloes and sheep were suspended upside down from hooks even while they were conscious. There was no provision to separate sick animals from the rest of the herd," Sharma said.
The abattoir, said to be the country's largest mechanised slaughterhouse (for domestic and export purposes), functions under the supervision of EDMC and is leased to a major private company.
"It was my first inspection and truly shocking what we saw. Such brazen cruelty to animals is unacceptable, and I have already written to the EDMC Commissioner seeking action against the Director of Veterinary in this connection.
"We have also sought a proper counting of animals kept there and installation of CCTV cameras there," Sharma said. Delhi Slaughterhouse Monitoring Committee member Maulekhi said, "Ghazipur slaughterhouse has so far been a public liability. The facility costs over Rs 5,000 crore to the Delhi government and is leased at a mere Rs 4 crore per annum to the contractor company."
"The contractor is flouting all laws with impunity and compromising food safety and animal welfare, right under the nose of the EDMC," Maulekhi alleged.
Manilal Valliyate, also a member of Delhi Slaughterhouse Monitoring Committee, said, "Ante-mortem examination was conducted on all animals which were slaughtered."
"Strangely, all buffaloes which had been brought for slaughter were found to be females, discarded by the dairy industry and many could be pregnant. Pregnancy tests were not being conducted on all animals," he alleged.
