Activists prevent transport of animals and release them or take them to cow shelters.

The Rs. 16-crore-a-day beef business in Kerala is on the verge of closure with cattle supplies from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu drying up in the wake of activist groups preventing the transport of animals through several districts in Tamil Nadu.

By an estimate of the Animal Husbandry Department in 2011, Kerala requires 5,000 tonnes of live animals and birds a day, with about 70 per cent of its over three-crore population being non-vegetarian.

Beef makes up 2,500 tonnes of the total. About 40 per cent of the animal weight is converted into edible meat. By this reckoning, Kerala requires 1,000 tonnes of beef a day.

“There is not enough cattle supplies to carry on business beyond coming Sunday,” said Moosa Vazhakkala, Ernakulam district secretary of the Kerala Meat Workers’ Association (INTUC) on Wednesday.

He said cattle dealers in Kerala had lost around 250 loads to attacks by activist groups since early July. The losses have been enormous, with each lorry-load of cattle costing approximately Rs. 8 lakh. Major cattle markets in Pollachi, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Salem, Kuzhalmannam, Vaniyakulam and Perimbilavu are closed since July 19. “It is time that the governments — Union, Tamil Nadu and Kerala — intervened to end the attack on cattle transport on the Tamil Nadu border, said K.M. Oommer, vice-president of the Kerala State Beef Merchants’ Association.

The meat business representatives said they faced no trouble within Kerala. Cattle supplies from outside have dwindled to about 20 per cent of the normal. Transporters in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka too are facing serious trouble, he said.

Kerala used to receive up to 200 loads — each with at least 30 head of cattle — every day during festive seasons. It had never been below 100 loads a day except for the Mandalam season, he added.

Groups such as the Hindu Makkal Katchi and the Hanuman Sena have reportedly attacked cattle-laden vehicles on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border and released the animals or have taken them to cow shelters. However, cattle traders claim that the animals were not being cared for.

Meanwhile, there is a marginal increase in beef price on account of the scarcity. Less than 20 per cent of the meat stalls are operational now, said Mr. Moosa.