NEW DELHI: The environment ministry’s notification prohibiting sale of cattle for slaughter or sacrifice in livestock markets is based on the Supreme Court’s order of July last year when the apex court had directed it to frame rules under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to curb trans-border smuggling of cattle and to protect animals from cruelty.It all started with a writ petition, filed by animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi in 2014, drawing the SC ’s attention to large-scale smuggling of cattle to Nepal for sacrifice there at the Gadhimai festival. The festival is held every five years at Bariyarpur village, where over five lakh animals are sacrificed in a span of two days making it the largest animal sacrifice in the world.Maulekhi, a trustee at Union minister Maneka Gandhi-led People for Animals (PFA), had sought SC intervention so that trans-border smuggling can be stopped with involvement of different agencies, including border guarding forces and state police, and cattle was made available to farmers at reasonable prices for agriculture.The court then passed an order on July 13, 2015 to frame guidelines to prevent animals from being smuggled out of India for the festival and constituted a committee under the then director general of Sahastra Seema Bal. The panel submitted a list of 20 recommendations, paving the way for the SC to deliver its final order on July 12 last year asking the ministry to frame rules under Section 38 of the 1960 Act.Saying the new rules were long overdue, Maulekhi told TOI on Tuesday that the move would save cattle from cruelty, remove the scope of illegal sale and smuggling and also help farmers who would now be able to buy cattle for agriculture purposes.She said, “Animal markets, which used to be ‘farmer markets’, have turned into ‘butcher markets' over the years. The result has been that there are no animals left for farmers to buy. The prices have been driven sky-high by butchers and no farmer who wants an animal for ploughing can afford one. More small farmers are driven to bankruptcy because they cannot afford mechanised vehicles”.Stating that the new rules have restored hope for small and marginal farmers, Maulekhi said, “Price of the animals will now come down and small farmers will be able to afford them again, restoring some form of wealth to them”.The committee’s recommendations, which had become the basis for the SC order, include restrictions on slaughter, regulations of “pashu haats\melas” (animal market/fair), methods to handle unproductive animals and transportation of animals under existing laws in the country.Its recommendation says, “No animal slaughter may be allowed at any religious or public place and slaughter may be permitted only in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulations, 2011”. It has not talked about a complete ban on slaughter but noted that it should be done in a manner that cattle suffering from disease do not enter the food chain.