Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Of Ministers Approve Amendments To Ban Cattle Slaughter

Sarah Thanawala

Sri Lanka and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

On 19 October 2021, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers approved the next step towards banning cattle slaughter in the country by approving amendments to five bills including Cattle Slaughter Ordiance (Economy Next, 2021, Xinhua, 2021). The approval signifies the next step of presenting the amendments before the Parliament that would solidify the ban. (Tamil Guardian, 2021). 

In September 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the ban on cattle slaughter, as well as the proposal to amend the relevant laws (Economy Next, 2021). The government highlighted that the ban was a step towards increasing local agriculture and dairy production (Economy Next, 2021). More particularly, it was pointed out that due to the rise of cattle slaughter, there was an insufficiency of livestock for traditional farming (Xinhua Net, 2021). However, the ban is criticized by activists as a move to target minority communities (Economy Next, 2021). The ban is feared to severely affect the livelihood of Muslims who own the majority of the slaughterhouses, as well as the marginalized Christians and Muslims who eat beef (Tamil Guardian, 2021). JHU, an extremist political party in Sri Lanka, lobbied for the ban, and its spokesperson has claimed Sri Lanka to be a “Sinhala Buddhist country” (Tamil Guardian, 2021).

The move towards the ban represents another attempt of the Sri Lankan government to target the minority communities that warrants international scrutiny. 

For further reading and source:

Economy Next (2021, October 19). Sri Lanka cabinet approves next step towards banning cattle slaughter. https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-cabinet-approves-next-step-towards-banning-cattle-slaughter-87199/#modal-one 

Tamil Guardian (2021, October 20). Sinhala Buddhist country lurches towards banning cattle slaughter. https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sinhala-buddhist-country-lurches-towards-banning-cattle-slaughter 

Xinhua (2021, October 20). Sri Lanka to amend laws to ban cattle slaughter. http://www.news.cn/english/2021-10/20/c_1310258124.htm