Municipal authorities launch drive against meat and poultry stalls in Bangalore

The municipal authorities in Bangalore have begun sealing meat and poultry stalls as part of the drive against stray dog menace that is plaguing the residents of the City.

The unprecedented crackdown on unlicensed meat and poultry shops across Bangalore came after experts opined that dogs feeding on raw meat tend to become ferocious and attack human beings.

“As many as 950 unauthorized meat and poultry stalls have been sealed so far”, said Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore City Corporation, M P Baligar.

The penalties for the unauthorized meat and poultry shops, which includes roadside and street vendors, include a fine and seizure of material, including weighing scales, push carts and other instruments.

The widespread closure of meat and poultry shops across Bangalore has put at least 3,000 people out of work, according to Bangalore City Meat, Poultry and Fish Sellers Association convener Prakash. “Each meat or poultry stall has a minimum of two to three employees. All of them have become jobless now,” he lamented.

Prakash pointed out that at least 80 per cent of the meat and poultry shops in Bangalore were unauthorized as the demand for a steep bribe makes licenses unaffordable to most people in the business.

Meanwhile, a Bangalore-based NGO Waste Wise Trust has come to the aid of the meat and poultry shop owners by arguing that it was not the meat stalls, which were contributing to the growth of dog population in Bangalore. “It is not the meat stalls, but managed domestic waste that is the single largest contributor to garbage in the City and as an extension to the growing dog population”, the Trust’s Director Anselm Rosario said regretting that meat sellers were paying the price for the crisis.

However, Bangalore Municipal Corporation’s drive to cull stray dogs after they mauled two children remains low-key after the State Government directed officials against sharing any details of the operation, lest it raised the hackles of the animal rights’ activists.