Speaking at a program in the capital on Sunday, Minister Gupta vowed to implement the Act at the earliest to discourage unorganized meat markets and punish the wrongdoers.[break]
“Delay in the implementation of the Act is the major reason behind unmanaged meat markets in the country. The government will do the needful for immediate implementation of the Act,” Gupta said, speaking at an interaction on ´Current Situation and Challenges of Livestock market in Nepal´ organized jointly by Nepal Bar Association, Directorate for Livestock Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and consumer rights organizations.
According to the directorate, more than 600 buffaloes, around 1,200 goats, 1,500 pigs and 15,000 chickens are slaughtered in the valley every day. But slaughtering is done in an unhygienic manner because the country lacks modern abattoirs.
Though the government had endorsed the Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act in 1999, making it mandatory to test quality of meat before selling in the market, it had failed to formulate necessary regulations to implement it.
As per the Act, traders should sell meat products only after quality test. Similarly, the Act demands them to conduct health check on animals before they are slaughtered. But no one seems to be following these provisions.
Minister Gupta also said the government would immediately start preparation to set up consumer court to make ongoing market inspection activities more effective and look into cases of market irregularities.
Nepal produces around 250,000 tons of meat every year, which is not sufficient to meet the rising demand for meat products. Nepal exported live animals and meat products worth Rs 577 million in the last fiscal year, up from Rs 308 million recorded in 2009/10.
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