WHICH ANIMALS MAY LEGALLY BE SLAUGHTERED FOR FOOD IN INDIA? Article By Adv. C. V. Manuvilsan
Indian law regulates food animals through FSSAI standards, animal-welfare rules, wildlife protection and State legislation. Difference between a Food-Animal Classification & a Legal Licence to Kill By Adv. C. V. Manuvilsan, Lex Loci Associates A seemingly simple question often gives rise to a complex legal issue: Has the Government of India published a list of animals that human beings are legally permitted to kill and consume as food? The answer is that India does not have one single statute, order or notification containing an exhaustive list of animals that may lawfully be killed for human consumption. Instead, the legal framework is spread across food-safety legislation, animal-welfare law, wildlife-protection law, State cattle-preservation laws and local-government regulations governing slaughterhouses and meat stalls. The law must therefore be understood as a combination of: provisions identifying recognised food-animal categories; provisions prohibiting the killi...