DIMAPUR, JULY 9 (MExN): The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) has asked the Nagaland State Government to reconsider the ban on commercial import and trading of dog meat in the State.
A press release from the NVCO said that the Cabinet decision of the said ban “taken solely in response to a letter written by Maneka Ghandhi, BJP MP may not fair enough without considering the people in the state.”
The NVCO, while supporting the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, said that the authority can always take action upon any person who has violated the laws but it is not fair to impose a ban which is amounting to infringement of people’s dietary practices. “Our culture is different from others, so is our food habits which are uniquely our heritage,” it added.
While stating that there can be a ban for some time in view of the pandemic, the NVCO stated that the present ban on commercial import and trading of dog meat “amounts to exploitation of our right of eating unique food habits.”
NVCO President, Kezhokhoto Savi said that “there is no law to impose a uniform code of food ethics on all in the country as we all come from different cultures and the said ban is unconstitutional.”
“If the State Government considers dog meat as unhealthy, then firstly the government should set up a slaughter house which is still failing on the part of state government despite of repeated direction and reminder from the central government,” the NVCO stated.
It meanwhile appealed to Naga tribe hohos and civil societies to “come forward to protect our unique indigenous food which is part of our tradition and customary and the said ban has hurt the sentiment of the public.”
The organisation meanwhile pointed out the irony that while the Cabinet was quick to decide on this issue, it is yet to “revoke the regularisation of 19 MOs in contract demanded by ACAUT Nagaland which has violated the government standing order and court order.”
It further alleged that the Department of Health & Family Welfare “is still going to violate all the rules by conducting fresh recruitment of a gazette post which is outside their purview but it should requisite to NPSC for the conduct of exam both written and interview.”
“Let us not play with people’s lives as sick people totally surrender their life to doctors’ care and for which the selection process must be fair by following the proper procedure of open selection,” the NVCO asserted.
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