Beef eaters in Maharashtra are certainly going to be one unhappy lot as they will now have to do without the red meat as President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995. This comes nearly 19 years after the Maharashtra Assembly passed the Bill during the BJP-Shiv Sena rule in 1995.
While this may have come as a surprise to many, The Quint breaks down some interesting stats for you on India and the beef industry.
1. Census data shows that nearly 80 percent of India’s 1.2 billion population are Hindu.
2. Most Hindus worship the cow and abstain from eating beef, so it might come as a surprise that India has become the world’s second-largest beef exporter.
3.India’s beef industry says all its beef comes from buffaloes, a claim challenged by right wing, religious, and animal rights groups.
4.While it’s true that cow slaughter is banned by most Indian states and the export of cow meat is against the law, the acceptance of the cow’s sacredness is not uniform throughout India and it’s likely that cow meat is sneaking into the buffalo beef market.
5.The export numbers don’t match up, and it’s suspected that cow meat is being snuck out.
6.Export began in the 1960s and grew significantly in the last decade.
7.Last year, India exported $4.3 billion worth of beef, a number expected to increase by $200 million this year.
8.India exports to 65 countries where its beef competes with meat from all over the world.
9. India has 115 million buffaloes, more than half the world’s population, and produces about 1.53 million tons of beef every year.
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