RAJKOT: In a late evening decision on Wednesday, the Deendayal Port Trust (DPT) in Kandla, Kutch, suspended the export of livestock from Tuna Port saying there was no proof to establish that handling of domesticated goat/sheep doesn’t lead to transmission of Covid-19.
The order signed by the DPT traffic manager issued late on Wednesday comes about five days after the port authority granted export permission to cattle breeders.
“It was brought to the notice of port administration by various sources that non-transmission of Covid-19 through domesticated goat/sheep has not yet been established while handling them. Hence it has been decided to suspend the handling of livestock at Tuna port barge jetty from April 30 till further orders,” the DPT order read.
According to DPT, the exporters also failed to fulfil the standard operating procedure set to curb the spread of Covid-19 during the exporting activity.
The first vessel carrying about 4,000 cattle had set sail from Tuna port on Tuesday. This decision on part of the DPT has left about 40,000 cattle breeders from Gujarat and Rajasthan in a lurch. Teh livestock is exported mainly to Gulf countries. Also, with the decision coming during the of Ramadan month, which is the peak season for export, cattle breeders are fearing heavy losses and future loss of business from west Asian countries.
Secretary of Livestock Exporters’ Association Adil Noor said, “The DPT withdrew the export permission without any valid reason. With frequent changes in export permissions, the credibility of Indian cattle exporters has been dented.”
“We used to export 6-7 lakh cattle every year, but the orders have now halved because of uncertainty over fulfilment of the orders. When all other exports are permitted, they why ban only livestock export citing coronavirus pandemic?” questioned Noor.
Cattle breeders alleged that DPT’s decision to ban export of cattle came under pressure from animal rights activists who have been demanding ban since 2018.
This is not the first time that the export of livestock from Tuna port has been suspended. It has happened over a half a dozen time over the period of last one and half years. The Gujarat high court had in April last year set aside order of the state government banning export of livestock from Gujarat.
The order signed by the DPT traffic manager issued late on Wednesday comes about five days after the port authority granted export permission to cattle breeders.
“It was brought to the notice of port administration by various sources that non-transmission of Covid-19 through domesticated goat/sheep has not yet been established while handling them. Hence it has been decided to suspend the handling of livestock at Tuna port barge jetty from April 30 till further orders,” the DPT order read.
According to DPT, the exporters also failed to fulfil the standard operating procedure set to curb the spread of Covid-19 during the exporting activity.
The first vessel carrying about 4,000 cattle had set sail from Tuna port on Tuesday. This decision on part of the DPT has left about 40,000 cattle breeders from Gujarat and Rajasthan in a lurch. Teh livestock is exported mainly to Gulf countries. Also, with the decision coming during the of Ramadan month, which is the peak season for export, cattle breeders are fearing heavy losses and future loss of business from west Asian countries.
Secretary of Livestock Exporters’ Association Adil Noor said, “The DPT withdrew the export permission without any valid reason. With frequent changes in export permissions, the credibility of Indian cattle exporters has been dented.”
“We used to export 6-7 lakh cattle every year, but the orders have now halved because of uncertainty over fulfilment of the orders. When all other exports are permitted, they why ban only livestock export citing coronavirus pandemic?” questioned Noor.
Cattle breeders alleged that DPT’s decision to ban export of cattle came under pressure from animal rights activists who have been demanding ban since 2018.
This is not the first time that the export of livestock from Tuna port has been suspended. It has happened over a half a dozen time over the period of last one and half years. The Gujarat high court had in April last year set aside order of the state government banning export of livestock from Gujarat.
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