Bengal cattle slaughter crackdown before Eid triggers backlash from Hindu dairy farmers

West Bengal’s newly elected BJP government is facing an unexpected backlash from Hindu dairy and cattle farmers after its decision to strictly enforce a decades-old cattle slaughter law disrupted a rural livestock economy that thousands depend on ahead of Eid al-Adha.

The Suvendu Adhikari government last week reiterated enforcement of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, mandating “fit-for-slaughter” certificates jointly issued by civic authorities and government veterinary surgeons before cattle can be legally slaughtered. The notification also reinforced restrictions on the transport and public slaughter of cattle and buffaloes.

Eid cattle trade disrupted

The move, coming weeks before Eid, triggered anxiety across districts such as South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad and Birbhum, where small dairy farmers routinely sell ageing or non-milching cattle during the festival season to recover maintenance costs and reinvest in younger livestock.

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“The government has no idea of the cattle economy, otherwise they would have given us time before implementing the 1950 law,” said Sasanka Mandal, a cattle farmer from Bamangachi in the Bhangar area of South 24 Parganas district.

“We spend Rs 200 to Rs 300 per day on each animal depending on age and size. The cow hardly survives for 14 years, but the government says the minimum age for selling cattle should be 14. What should we do with cattle that have stopped giving milk before that?” he said. “Every year during Eid, we sell ageing cattle, and part of that money is reinvested in buying new cattle.”

Under the law, cattle can only be slaughtered if authorities certify that the animal is above 14 years of age and unfit for work or breeding, or permanently incapacitated because of injury, deformity or incurable disease.

Farmers fear mounting losses

Farmers said the stricter enforcement has paralysed the seasonal cattle market because traders and buyers fear legal complications and vigilante action.

Surajit Ghosh, a cattle farmer from Bamunia village in Bhangar, said his family had been involved in the trade for over two decades. “We have taken loans of around Rs 15 lakh for this business. The cattle that stop giving milk are prepared for sale during Eid by feeding them properly for six to seven months. After the sale, we repay the loans,” he told The Federal over the phone. “Now no one is coming to purchase cattle because of fear. The government should provide us alternative livelihood avenues.”

Another farmer from the same village, Sanjit Ghosh, said he had around 20 cattle ready for sale before Eid and was struggling to support his six-member family after buyers withdrew. “People who had given advance payments are now asking for their money back,” he said. “Like paddy procurement, the government should purchase cattle from farmers at a minimum support price this year.”

The Ghosh surname among Bengali Other Backward Classes is traditionally associated with the Goala and Sadgop communities, historically linked to dairy farming and cattle rearing. These groups were among the worst affected because cattle trading forms a key supplementary source of rural income.

Depending on age, size and physical condition, cattle prepared for the Eid market can fetch between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, traders said.

Opposition slams cattle crackdown

Opposition leaders said the BJP government’s cow protection push was colliding with Bengal’s agrarian realities.

“The BJP government of Suvendu Adhikari wanted to target Muslims, but in the process Hindus are suffering more,” said Nausad Siddique, Indian Secular Front MLA from Bhangar.

“Eighty per cent of the people involved in cattle rearing are non-Muslim brothers. Muslims have alternatives for qurbani such as goats and other animals. But these farmers invested Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 on each cattle hoping to sell them for at least Rs 1 lakh,” he said.

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Siddique urged the government to invoke Section 12 of the 1950 Act, which allows the state government to exempt the slaughter of animals from the provisions of the law for “religious, medicinal or research purposes”, subject to conditions imposed by the authorities.

He argued that the provision could be used to grant temporary relaxation during Eid al-Adha in designated areas under administrative supervision so that traditional religious practices and the rural cattle economy are not simultaneously disrupted.

He also alleged that a farmer in Bamunia died of a heart attack triggered by anxiety over mounting losses, although The Federal could not independently verify the claim.

‘Birth certificate’ demand sparks row

The controversy intensified after newly elected BJP MLA Rekha Patra intercepted a cattle-laden vehicle in Hingalganj and demanded “birth certificates” of cows to prove they were eligible for slaughter last week.

“As our government has directed, there will be a strict ban on slaughtering cows below 14 years,” Patra said. “If anyone is found transporting cows illegally, we must catch them and ask them to show birth certificates of the cows.”

Videos of the incident circulated widely on social media, fuelling anxiety among cattle traders and farmers ahead of Eid.

The action also drew criticism from opposition parties, which accused BJP workers of encouraging vigilante-style enforcement of cattle transport and slaughter rules.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other opposition groups accused the government of creating an atmosphere of intimidation ahead of the Islamic festival.

CPM state secretary Md Salim alleged that incidents of cattle seizure, disruption of livestock markets and harassment of traders by “overenthusiastic” supporters of cow protection were spreading fear among small vendors, cattle rearers and minorities across Bengal.

He warned that attempts to enforce the rules through “force and intimidation” could damage social harmony and accused the BJP government of allowing a climate of vigilantism to emerge in the name of cow protection.

Communal harmony concerns grow

Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, saying the notification had generated “confusion, resentment and anxiety” in minority-dominated districts such as Murshidabad.

The state Congress described the move as “interference in the religious practices of minorities” that could damage Bengal’s “social harmony and peace”.

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In a statement, SUCI (Communist) general secretary Prabhas Ghosh said the restrictions would effectively halt religious customs followed “for generations” and warned that the notification could disturb communal harmony.

Muslim clerics and community leaders have meanwhile urged devotees to comply with legal requirements and, where necessary, opt for goats or sheep instead of cattle for qurbani.

Human rights activist Kiriti Roy said the controversy highlighted the tension between Hindutva-driven cow protection politics and Bengal’s distinctive rural economy. “Cattle resale and recycling are deeply embedded in Bengal’s dairy economy,” he said.

“For small farmers, selling ageing cattle is part of the economic cycle that sustains household incomes and allows reinvestment in livestock. Strict enforcement without transition mechanisms risks hurting precisely those lower-income rural Hindu communities that the BJP has tried to cultivate politically,” Roy added.