Rajasthan bans camel slaughter

The Rajasthan Assembly has passed a law banning the slaughter, trading and unauthorised transportation of camels. Camels was declared the State animal last year though there was some opposition from the communities whose livelihoods depended on the animal.

The Rajasthan Camel (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Bill, 2015 also makes causing injury to a camel punishable. Camel slaughter is punishable with a five-year jail term and a fine. Allaying the Opposition’s, and some BJP members’ apprehensions over some provisions of the Bill, including one that makes piercing the animal’s nose an offence, Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Lal Saini said rituals and traditional practices would not be punishable.