The Punjab government has recently issued a notification which has been sent to all the slaughter houses of the province under which slaughtering of female animals will be prohibited. The step is taken to increase the production of cattle.
What I am concerned about is the timing of this decision. As we all know that Eid ul Azha is approaching and Muslims all over the country offer their sacrifices. Ban on the culling of female animals will certainly affect the cattle markets of not only in Punjab but also throughout the country. It will certainly result in the acute rise in the prices of animals. In this time of economic crisis where people are badly affected by inflation, that’s a new worry which is about to knock on their doors.
I would like to appeal to the Punjab government to nullify its notification for the sake of poor peoples. Instead, such a ban can be introduced after Eid ul Azha, when people would have performed their rituals. At that time the demand of red meat automatically decreases as people consume the meat of sacrificed animals. This way people would be least affected by this ban.
TARIQ FARUQI,
Karachi, August 15.