While the sale of beef has yet to reach levels seen before the emergence of lumpy skin disease (LSD), what is really troubling butchers is the lack of supply of cattle coming into Meghalaya.
Several thousand cattle in the state were infected with LSD, more than 100 of which have died.
Speaking to Highland Post yesterday, Khasi-Jaiñtia Butchers Welfare Association (KJBWA) general secretary Generous Warlarpih said that demand for beef is still down because most people are still wary about buying the meat so soon after the LSD outbreak even though the government has assured them on the matter.
Warlarpih also said that infections have dropped off since the arrival of the monsoon. He suggested that the cattle developed LSD through rashes that were brought on by the extremely hot and dry weather that the state witnessed until last month.
However, the real concern for butchers, and what should concern the public and government, is that the supply of cattle through Assam has largely dried up since the neighbouring state passed its Cattle Preservation Act last year. As a result, butchers are completely dependent on local supply of cattle but this has driven up the price.
“What we had demanded is that the then Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department see to it that cattle from others states, like Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, etc, which are supposed to be transported to Meghalaya, are not obstructed on the highway passing through Assam but it seems that Assam even has the authority over the highways,” he lamented.
“The supply of cows to Meghalaya to date has completely ceased since Assam passed its law and what cattle have come in are instead buffaloes. Illegal buffalo markets at Byrnihat have also mushroomed and even the smoked beef enjoyed by most of our people across the state is now instead smoked buffalo meat that are butchered in border areas and supplied to the rest of the state. No one can make out the difference once it has been smoked.”
Warlarpih clarified that there is no harm in consuming buffalo meat but that the public has a right to know exactly what is going on their dinner plate.
When asked if the butchers’ association will apprise the government about these issues, Warlarpih said that it is futile meeting the same people about the same issues that are never resolved.
“The only hope now for our people of the state is to breed their own cows and our farmers to see the opportunity here and the market available because the government will not do anything on this issue,” he added.
