From Bhupen Goswami
Guwahathi: The Kohima bench of the Guwahati High Court has stayed the Nagaland government’s order banning commercial import and trade of dog meat in markets and restaurants. The court had issued an interim stay on November 25 after the state government failed to file a response in the case. A bench headed by Justice S. Hukato Swou pronounced the order saying that the order imposed till 4th July, 2020 of the case could be stayed till the next date. The court directed the petitioners of the state to file their affidavit and the case is to be listed after the winter recess. The ban on sale of dogs for meat in Nagaland came into force on July 4 when the state cabinet had banned commercial import and trade of both cooked and uncooked meat of dogs, as well as a ban on the sale of dog markets and dog meat. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister N. Kronu said, the decision to ban commercial import and trade of dogs and sale of dog meat was taken at a meeting of the State Cabinet. It is mentioned here that for the last few days, there was a large scale illegal smuggling of dogs for dog meat in Nagaland. The smuggling was being carried out by filling the dogs in the boro. The photo related to it in social media was fiercely viral. Since then, the case has been caught. According to a post posted on Twitter, the dogs were allegedly being illegally transported to Nagaland from the state borders of West Bengal and Assam. Are also going viral on social media, in which the dogs ‘ mouths are tied to the rope and their bodies are seen to be locked in sacks. While sharing the photo, a Twitter user wrote: “These dogs were being transported from West Bengal to Nagaland on the 26th of last month to sell them for meat. After social media grew organically, the state government had now banned the sale of dogs’ meat. The move had prevented the mixed reactions of the Naga people. However, there are many Nagas, which do not consume dog meat, it is considered quite important for the nagas and some other communities in the region. It is believed that dog meat also has a different medicinal value. A petition was filed by licensed traders under the Kohima Nagar Parishad challenging the legal basis and jurisdiction regarding the ban to import dogs and sell dog meat. The petitioners are of the view that the notification has been wrongly interpreted and relied upon by the Food Security Act.
