The Bombay High Court ruled last week that bullocks should not be slaughtered if they are less than 16 years old. A division bench of Justice RS Radhakrishnan and Justice Vijaya Tahilramani held that though the state’s bill seeking a blanket ban on slaughtering calves, bulls and bullocks is affirmed by the President, the interim relief of age should control the slaughter of cattle under the specified age.
The age bar petition was filed by trustee RK Joshi of the Viniyog Parivar Trust. It challenged the definition of a “calf” under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1976 and age-based restriction of slaughtering animals such as bulls. Joshi said that when the petition was filed, the Act defined a calf as an animal upto one year old and a bull or bullock as over three years old. The gap between a calf and bull was a grey area, and it led to the slaughter of lakhs of calves. Earlier, a bull would be slaughtered after its usefulness was determined by veterinarians.
The age bar was sought as the criteria for slaughtering was ambiguous. The age bar, Joshi added, solved two problems: Slaughter of calves would stop, and veterinarians would not sanction a slaughter certificate without the age of the animal.
