The Live-stock and Live-stock Products [Importation and Exportation] Bill, 2023 is a proposed legislation that seeks to regulate the live export of animals from India.
The draft Livestock Bill was put up on the website of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying for public scrutiny on 8th June 2023. The animal rights organisation Animal Climate and Health Save India is urging government officials to reconsider turning the bill into law for several reasons:
- Transporting live animals is a form of cruelty because they have to endure long distances with no space to move, breathe, or stretch their limbs. They are forced to stand for days on end in filth with no escape or relief, causing diseases and even death in large numbers.
- Legalising live import and export of animals is against our country’s roots which propagate Ahimsa – non-violence – towards all living beings. Compassion is also advocated in all the major religions that are followed in India.
- Not only is animal agriculture one of the largest drivers of global warming, but the live export of animals also causes very high greenhouse gas emissions. Passing the bill would further add a long delay in the Sustainable Development Goals that India aims to achieve.
- Consuming animals or animal products who have been transported in unimaginable horrific conditions is a risk to public health. COVID-19 is proof that deadly zoonotic diseases can transfer from animals to humans easily and bring the world to a standstill.
In response to the draft, Animal Climate and Health Save India designed and launched a campaign. A link and a QR code were created, which upon clicking or scanning, would open a pre-constructed petition in the form of an email which the users can review, edit, and send to the designated officials. Alone, Animal Climate and Health Save India managed to help 50,000+ individuals in sharing their opinions, through emails in just 48 hours of starting the campaign.
The email outlines all the reasons why the legalisation of live export will have extremely harmful consequences and recommends adopting the Plant Based Treaty to address the twin pressing issues of food security and climate crisis.
Celebrities such as actress Jaya Bhattacharya, Zeenat Aman, and Rashmi Gautam also took to social media to support the cause.
The campaign, spearheaded by Animal Climate and Health Save India inspired similar actions from many other organisations, generating even more petitions in support of the cause.
Now that the deadline has passed, we hope that our collective effort will prevent this bill from turning into law. It’s time we enable and strengthen policies in favour of non-human animals instead of commodifying them further and increasing their suffering.