( III of 1963)
[17th
April, 1963]
An
Act
to prohibit the
slaughter of useful animals and to regulate the slaughter of other animals in 3[the
Punjab]
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is
expedient to prohibit the slaughter of useful animals and to regulate the
slaughter of other animals in the province of [3][the
Punjab];
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
1.
Short title,
extent and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called 5[
the Punjab] Animals Slaughter Control Act,
1963.
(3) This section
shall come into force at once and the remaining provisions of the Act or any of
them shall come into force in such 8[* * *] area and on
such date as Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify in
this behalf.
2.
Definitions.—
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions
shall have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:-
[6][(a)
“animal” means a bull, bullock, buffalo, buffalo-bull, camel, cow, goat,
ostrich, sheep or any other halal animal of any age domesticated in captivity;]
(c)
“cull” means to pick an animal which is suitable
neither for breeding purposes nor for draught purposes;
[9][(e) “Local Authority” means an urban
local council constituted under the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 1979 (VI
of 1979) or a Cantonment Board established under the Cantonments Act, 1924
( II of 1924); ]
[10][(ee) “meat” means the meat of an animal;]
(f)
“prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this
Act;
14[(ff) “rules”
mean rules made under this Act;]
(g)
“slaughter” means to kill animals by any means;
(h)
“slaughter-house” means any building or premises used
for slaughtering animals and approved by the local authority concerned;
(i)
“stock yard” means any enclosure, approved by a local
authority where animals are assembled for examination by the Veterinary Officer
to determine whether they are suitable for slaughter or not, or where animals
approved for slaughtering are housed until they are removed to the
slaughter-house;
[11][(j) “area” means an area which the
Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare to be an area
for the purposes of this Act;]
(k) “useful animal” means—
(ii)
a female sheep 17[or goat] of the
age exceeding one year and six months but not exceeding four years, which is
pregnant or fit for breeding purposes;
(iv)
any female animal, other than sheep, [14][or
goat] which is pregnant or in milk or fit for breeding purposes;
(v)
any female animal, other than sheep 20[or goat] between three to ten years of
age, which is fit for draught purposes;
but does not
include any such animal which on account of culling, injury, illness or other
cause, is certified in writing by a Veterinary Officer or any gazetted officer
of the [15][Livestock
and Dairy Development Department] as not likely to live or as no longer a
useful animal for the purposes of this Act; [16][
and ]
23[(
vi) any male sheep or goat below the age of two months; ]
(l) “Veterinary Officer” means an officer of
the [17][Livestock
and Dairy
Development Department], not
below the rank of a Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, and includes an
Officer-in-charge of a slaughter-house, provided that such officer-in-charge
possesses a degree or diploma from a recognised Veterinary or Animal Husbandry
College.
3.
Restriction
on slaughter of animals.— (1) No person shall slaughter a useful animal.
(2) No person shall
slaughter an animal—
(a)
unless such animal has been approved as hereinafter
provided, for
slaughter; [18][
* * * ]
(b)
except in a slaughter-house and during the hours
prescribed
[21][(c) on Tuesday and Wednesday or on such
other day or days as Government may by notification in the official Gazette,
specify in this behalf:]
Provided that
nothing contained in this section shall apply to the slaughter of any animal—
(i)
by a Muslim on the day of Eid-ul-Azha and the two
succeeding days; or
(ii)
which on account of illness, injury or other cause is
likely to die before it can be presented to the officer-in-charge of
slaughterhouse.
[22][(3) No person shall, directly or indirectly,—
(a)
sell, keep, store, transport, offer or expose for sale,
or hawk any meat or carcass of any animal which has not been slaughtered in a
slaughter-house and does not bear the stamp or mark of the slaughter-house
prescribed by the local authority in this behalf; or
(b)
sell or cause to be sold any meat at a place other than
that set apart or approved for this purpose by the local authority.]
30[3-A
Presumptions.— In every prosecution under this Act, the court shall
presume—
(a)
that any meat or carcass found in possession of any
person who is, or has been, habitually selling, keeping, storing, transporting,
offering or exposing for sale, or hawking the meat or carcass, was being sold,
kept, stored, transported, offered or exposed for sale, or hawked, as the case
may be, by such person;
(b)
that any meat or carcass which does not bear the stamp
or mark of a slaughter-house has not been slaughtered in a slaughter-house or
during the hours prescribed therefor; and
(c)
that any person who is in possession of the premises
where an offence under this Act has been or is being committed by another
person has abetted that offence.]
4.
Examination
in stock-yard.— (1) Any person intending to slaughter an animal in
slaughter-house shall produce the animal in the stock yard for examination at
any time during the hours fixed by the local authority concerned for
inspection.
(2)
After examination of any such animal, the Veterinary
Officer may approve it for slaughter:
Provided that no useful animal shall be so approved.
(3)
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Veterinary
Officer may, within twenty-four hours of such decision, prefer an appeal from
such decision, to such authority as may be prescribed.
(4)
Subject to the decision of the appellate authority the
decision of the Veterinary Officer shall be final.
5.
Prohibition
to cause abortion.— No person shall voluntarily cause a pregnant sheep
mis-carry or induce premature birth of its young.
6.
Power to
exempt.— Government may, under special circumstances
subject to such conditions as it
may deem fit to impose, exempt any person or class of persons from all or any
provisions of this Act.
[23][7. Power of entry, search and seizure.—
(1) A Veterinary Officer or any gazetted officer may—
(a)
enter and search a slaughter-house or any other premises
where he has reason to believe that an offence under this Act or rules has
been, is being or is about to be committed, and may seize any animal, carcass
or meat, in respect of which such offence has been, is being or is about to be
committed, as the case may be; and
(b)
arrest or cause to be arrested any person who, in his
view, commits any offence under the provisions of this Act or the rules.
(2) A Veterinary
Officer or a gazetted officer arresting or causing the arrest of any person, or
seizing or causing the seizure of any animal, carcass or meat shall—
(a)
without unnecessary delay, and subject to the
provisions of clause (b) and clause (c) as to release on bond, take or send the
person arrested or the animal carcass or meat seized to the police-officer
alongwith a report, in writing, stating facts constituting the offence for
which such person has been arrested or such animal, carcass or meat has been
seized;
(b)
release such person on his executing a bond to appear,
when so required, before the police-officer; and
(c)
release such animal to the person from whose possession
it has been seized or to the owner thereof on his executing a bond to produce
it, when so required, before the police-officer.
Explanation—
In sub-section (2) “police-officer” means the officer-incharge of the nearest
police-station.]
[24][8. Penalty.— (1) Whoever contravenes
any provision of this Act (other than the provisions of clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3) or
the rules shall, on first conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to one month, or with fine which shall not be less than one
hundred rupees or with both and, on second or subsequent conviction, with
imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine which shall not be
less than two hundred rupees or with both.
(2)
Whoever contravenes the provisions of clause (c) of
sub-section (2) of section 3 shall be punished with imprisonment which may
extend to three years, or with fine which shall not be less than three hundred
rupees, or with both, and the court trying the case relating to such
contravention shall direct that any animal slaughtered in contravention of the
provisions of that clause shall be forfeited to the Government.
(3)
An attempt to contravene any provision of this Act or
the rules and an abetment of such contravention shall be punished as an offence
under this Act.]
[25][8-A. Offences to be cognizable and
bailable.— Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1898, an offence punishable under this Act or the rules shall be
cognizable and bailable within the meaning of the said Code.
8-B. Cognizance of offences.— No court shall
take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act or the rules except on
a report, in writing, of the facts constituting such offence made by a
Veterinary Officer or a gazetted officer.
8-C. Offences to be tried by whom.— No court
inferior to that of a magistrate of the first class shall try any offence
punishable under this Act or the rules.]
9.
Forfeiture.—
The court trying an offence under this Act may direct that any animal, carcass
or meat in respect of which the court is satisfied that an offence under this
Act has been committed, be forfeited to Government.
10.
Reward to
informers.— The court trying an offence under this Act may direct that an
amount not exceeding twenty per cent of such sum as may be realized by way of
fine or under section 517 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, (V of 1898),
on account of the sale or disposal otherwise of the animal, carcass or meat in
respect of which an offence under this Act has been committed, be awarded to
the person or persons supplying information relating to the commission of the
offence.
11.
Rules.—
Government may frame rules—
(i)
to regulate the procedure for the disposal of animals,
carcass or meat seized under this Act; and
(ii)
generally to give effect to the provisions of this Act.
[26][12. Repeal.— Section 43 of the Punjab
Laws Act, 1872 is hereby Repealed.]
[1] For statement of objects
and reasons, see Gazette of West Pakistan, 1963 (Extraordinary), pp.4342-43.
This Act was
passed by the West Pakistan Assembly on 30th March, 1963; assented to by the
Governor of West Pakistan on 12th April, 1963; and, published in the West
Pakistan Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 17th April, 1963, pages 1609-1612.
[2] Substituted by the Punjab
Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (Pb. A.O. 1 of 1974), for “West Pakistan”. 3Ibid.
[4] Substituted by the West
Pakistan Animals Slaughter (Amendment) Ordinance, 1965 (XXIV of 1965).
[5] Substituted by the Punjab
Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (Pb. A.O. 1 of 1974), for “West Pakistan”. 8The
word “Urban” deleted by the West Pakistan Animals Slaughter (Amendment)
Ordinance, 1965 (XXIV of 1965).
[6] Substituted by the Punjab
Animals Slaughter Control (Amendment) Act, 2013 (XIX of 2013)
[7] Added by the West Pakistan
Animals Slaughters Control (Punjab Amendment) Ordinance, 1970 (VIII of 1970).
[8] Substituted by the Punjab
Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (Pb. A.O. 1 of 1974), for “Government of West
Pakistan”.
[9] Substituted by the Punjab
Animals Slaughter Control (Amendment) Ordinance, 1982 (VII of 1982).
[10] Added by the West
Pakistan Animals Slaughters Control (Punjab Amendment) Ordinance, 1970 (VIII of
1970). 14Ibid.
[11] Substituted by the West
Pakistan Animals Slaughter (Amendment) Ordinance, 1965 (XXIV of 1965).
[12] Inserted by the West
Pakistan Animals Slaughters Control (Punjab Amendment) Ordinance, 1970 (VIII of
1970). 17Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[15] Substituted by the Punjab
Animals Slaughter Control (Amendment) Ordinance, 1982 (VII of 1982).
[16] Added by the West
Pakistan Animals Slaughters Control (Punjab Amendment) Ordinance, 1970 (VIII of
1970). 23Ibid.
[17] Substituted by the Punjab
Animals Slaughter Control (Amendment) Ordinance, 1982 (VII of 1982).
[18] The word “and”, deleted
by the West Pakistan Animals Slaughter (Amendment) Ordinance, 1965 (XXIV of
1965).
[19]
Substituted ibid., for the colon.
[20] Added ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Added by the West
Pakistan Animals Slaughters Control (Punjab Amendment) Ordinance, 1970 (VIII of
1970). 30Ibid.
[23] Substituted by the West
Pakistan Animals Slaughters Control (Punjab Amendment) Ordinance, 1970 (VIII of
1970).
[24] Substituted by the West
Pakistan Animals Slaughters Control (Punjab Amendment) Ordinance, 1970 (VIII of
1970).
[25] Sections 8-A to 8-C,
added by the West Pakistan Animals Slaughters Control (Punjab Amendment)
Ordinance, 1970 ( VIII of 1970).
[26] Substituted ibid.
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