The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has categorised all industries based on a Pollution Index — which calculates the effect they have on water, air and land and the health of people — Red, Orange, Green and White. Red category industries include slaughterhouses, hazardous chemical industries and firecracker factories. They are the most polluting. The Red and Orange category industries need to meet stringent minimum standards for operation and waste disposal. They get Consent to Establish, as well as Consent to Operate, only after detailed inspections, and these are renewed constantly. Any violation of guidelines attracts penalties as environmental compensation.
Each category below Red has less and less norms to follow, and their monitoring is easy – and in some cases almost absent. The Animal Husbandry department has no process of inspection and hardly any inspectors. In any case the inspectors don’t know what to look for, as they are mostly illiterate flatfeet who have never been asked to read any law, or given any forms to fill out. So, even if they go to a poultry or a dairy farm they have no idea of what to do. They simply take their hafta and go away. A poultry or a dairy doesn’t need any consent to set up wherever they want.
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The result has been large scale pollution of land and water by these two industries. Hens are kept in small cages one on top of the other and faeces from the top layer dip into all layers below. These are called battery cages.
The germ filled faeces in battery cages become poisonous for both bird and man. In order to keep these birds alive in such intensive and filthy environs, the farm owners regularly administer antibiotics. Dairies use antibiotics and hormones (poultries alone use 70 per cent of all antibiotics in the country) illegally, as well as the water, and faeces run-off makes sure that all land and water around get huge doses of it. Consequently, every human, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, becomes immune to all medicine. Hormonal imbalances lead to cancer.
Both industries create methane which creates a heatwave locally. Due to filthy conditions of both, millions of flies are bred and these, and the smell of these establishments, make it difficult for anyone to live for miles around. There is no method of disposal of carcasses and these are simply thrown into nearby water bodies, or left in piles on common land. Basically, the industrial animal rearing sector got away with running unregulated filthy concentration camps, gravely compromising the health and safety of animals, workers employed there, and people living in vicinity.
Despite every indicator that these industries are extremely harmful and should be in Red or Orange category, the poultry industry was classified as Green category and dairy as Orange/Green depending on its size. Both Green and White categories get away with little or no regulation or monitoring. Earlier, CPCB exempted poultry farms upto 1 lakh birds from any regulation and even the ones where more than a lakh birds were crammed, were classified as Green. Finally, someone had to challenge this. Gauri Maulekhi of People for Animals and advocate NG Jayasimha challenged this categorisation in the National Green Tribunal. Gauri has worked for years on poultry issues and has found it one of the most cruel industries on earth. She is leading the fight to bring reforms into this breeding and slaughter industry. The petitioners contended that poultry and dairy farms actually have huge hidden costs in terms of environmental damage and public health impact. Unfortunately, there was no law in India till now to regulate these establishments.
In September 2020, the NGT ruled that all dairies have to be brought under Orange category immediately, and poultries can no longer be under Green category. In January, the NGT will decide whether poultry has to be Orange or Red.
What does this mean? It is now mandatory for all dairy and poultry establishments to obtain a Consent to Establish, and Consent to Operate, from the State Pollution Control Boards. Any place where more than 5,000 poultry birds or any number of cattle are kept for industrial production of eggs, meat or milk, will have to follow minimum standards prescribed by the CPCB, which now has to make rules – for the first time!
A report from FAO says livestock production contributes to the world’s most pressing environmental problems – global warming, land degradation, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. The Tribunal took into account research conducted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute which said, “Poultry production is associated with a variety of environmental pollutants, including oxygen-demanding substances, ammonia, solids and, besides, the poultry attracts flies, rodents, dogs and other pests that create local nuisances and carry diseases. Poor management of manure, litter and waste water etc. adversely affects the living in the vicinity. Odour is generated from fresh and decomposed waste products such as manures, carcasses, feathers and bedding litter. Furthermore, intensive poultry production may be responsible for greenhouse gasses, acidification and eutrophication.”
Dairy farms are the single biggest reason for areas in Delhi to get flooded during the lightest of rains. The storm drains are clogged by the illegal dung disposal from 10 huge dairy colonies where buffaloes are housed in basements, first, second and third floors. These animals are treated like milk machines and tied with a two-foot chain for their entire lives. Due to lack of sunlight and exercise, they develop fungal infections and their hides turn pink. They only get to walk a few steps – on the day they are being taken for slaughter.
It is the duty of every Indian to contribute to both, preserving the environment and preventing abuse of animals. If there is a dairy or a poultry farm in your neighbourhood, please enquire if they have obtained Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate from the State Pollution Control Board. If not, write to the Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board and ensure that such establishments meet minimum standards for solid and liquid waste disposal, bio-waste disposal, density of animals, hygiene requirement in the facility. This will ensure that our groundwater, the air we breathe and the products we consume are not corrupted by contaminants, pesticides, antibiotics, and deadly pathogens. The relief to the animals that suffer in these concentration camps will be your gift to them.
To join the animal welfare movement contact [email protected], www.peopleforanimalsindia.org
