One of India's most populous states has banned the sale of beef, satisfying the Hindu majority there but angering the country's beef industry that claims thousands will lose their jobs because of the legislation.
The new ban in Maharashtra, which includes the India's commercial hub of Mumbai, is so strict that residents could face five years in prison for even possessing beef, officials told
Al Jazeera. The news agency noted that India's Hindu majority have long considered cows sacred and several states already ban their slaughter.
The current ban also includes the slaughter of bulls and bullocks, but the slaughter of buffalo remains legal.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis praised the final passage of the bill, which was first proposed in 1995.
"This is a historic step, which has cultural as well as economic implications for the state," Kirit Somaiya, who represents Mumbai in India's Parliament, told the
Indian Express. "We had passed this Act when we were in power in 1995 and had sent it for the President’s nod in 1996. Subsequent governments in the state, however, failed to do the needful to get the Bill implemented. We had promised in our manifesto to bring this Bill and we have managed to do it."
The law has upset the beef traders in the country who are trying to determine just how much the new law will change their market, said Mohammed Qureshi, president of the Mumbai Suburban Beef Dealer Association.
"Apart from rendering people jobless, the immediate effect will be the spiraling price of other meats as people will be forced to gravitate to them," said Qureshi.
Glyston Gracias, the brand chef at Smoke House Deli in Mumbai, told the Indian Express he will have to close his restaurant because his menu was based on European dishes with beef.
"This is extremely sad to hear," said Gracias. "I will have to go to another country. … A lot of our foreign clientele, such as Japanese and Europeans, will miss beef on the menu."
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