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Updated: May 07, 2017 23:45 IST

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday announced that all illegal slaughter houses in the state will be shut down.

Madhya Pradesh becomes the third BJP-ruled state after Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to ban illegal slaughterhouses.

Chouhan made the announcement at a religious function at a Jain pilgrimage site at Mohan Kheda in Dhar district, 264km from Bhopal. The function was organised for anointing Jain saint Rishabhchandra Vijayji as Acharya.

The CM’s announcement followed Jain saint Rishabhchandra Vijay lauding him and expecting him to issue an order to shut down illegal slaughter houses in the state once he reaches Bhopal.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Praveen Togadia in his address said not only illegal abattoirs, all the mechanised slaughter houses should be shut down in the state.

“I also want there should be no export of meat from India,” the Hindu hardline leader said. Togadia said the discourse should not be on gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes) but on the cow-killers even as vigilantes continue to run rampage in many parts of north India.

According to officials, the slaughter of animals for food is a State subject and regulated by local bodies through licensing of slaughterhouses and retail meat shops. However, most municipal slaughterhouses and meat shops lack modern machinery and equipment with inadequate hygiene and sanitation.

Many operate in gross violation of the norms. Effluent treatment and waste disposal facilities in these traditional slaughterhouses and meat shops are also not satisfactory, sources said. Last month Bhopal Municipal Corporation had identified over 100 meat sellers in Bhopal who were found selling meat in violation of guidelines.

On Friday, the Haryana government announced that a ban would be imposed on illegal slaughter of animals and sale of meat procured thereof throughout the state from May 15.

Earlier in March, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had ordered shutting down of illegal slaughterhouses.