Kochi: The Kerala High Court has warned the state government that it will shut all livestock markets in the state if District Animal Market Monitoring Committees are not set up in every district within eight weeks. The court issued the warning after being told that, barring Idukki, no other district had constituted the committee.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M also questioned assertions that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, were being strictly enforced across all districts. The judges noted that authorities had failed to provide details regarding animals that were seized and produced as case property.
The bench stated that it is difficult to accept that the 2017 regulations have been scrupulously followed by everyone, emphasizing that the absence of the monitoring committees cannot serve as an excuse to permit violations of the rules. The court cautioned that if the committees are not established in every district within the specified eight-week period, it will be forced to close down all livestock markets.
Additionally, the court instructed the state government to submit an affidavit outlining the cases registered under the 2017 rules thus far, alongside the specific enforcement measures taken against violators. The proceedings were subsequently adjourned for further hearing on December 2.
The judicial intervention stems from a public interest litigation filed by animal rights activist Angels Nair. The petition alleged that cattle intended for trade were being subjected to cruel conditions, such as being tethered in intense heat without adequate food or water, in direct violation of the existing legal framework governing cattle markets.