The Meghalaya government is set to strengthen measures to curb cattle smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border. Plans include setting up district-level task forces, establishing check points in vulnerable areas, and making changes to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the maintenance of seized cattle. These decisions were discussed during a meeting between officials of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department and the Border Security Force (BSF), led by Inspector General (IG) of the Meghalaya Frontier.
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Sanbor Shullai, who chaired the meeting, said the discussions centered around the recently issued five-point notification on the maintenance of seized cattle and ways to improve coordination among the BSF, police, and the Veterinary Department. ‘We had a very good discussion with the IG BSF, his team and the Veterinary Department. We reviewed the five-point notification issued by the department and discussed measures to strengthen its implementation,’ Shullai said. The minister said the BSF has been requested to intensify checks along the international border in coordination with the police and border magistrates to prevent cattle smuggling.
The state government also urged the BSF to expedite the completion of border fencing, with around 27 kilometers of fencing remaining incomplete in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills region, and about seven kilometers yet to be completed in Garo Hills. Another proposal discussed was the establishment of joint check points in vulnerable cattle smuggling routes, which would be manned jointly by the BSF, police, and Veterinary Department officials to improve surveillance and enforcement. The Veterinary Department has also been asked to constitute Special Task Forces in all districts for the transportation of seized cattle to designated animal shelters, as provided under the revised SOP.
The Task Force will be headed by the Block Development Officer (BDO) of the concerned C&RD Block and will include the officer-in-charge of the local police station, the jurisdictional Veterinary Officer, the District Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Officer, and the Sub-Divisional Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Officer as members. The SOP expands the powers of the police to act as a seizing authority alongside the BSF and Customs, and mandates that an FIR be registered immediately after cattle are seized. All seized animals must be identified through ear tagging, microchipping, or other approved methods before being shifted to government-recognized animal shelters.
The BSF has sought 13 days to submit a detailed report on the issues discussed, following which another meeting will be held between the force and the Veterinary Department to finalize the changes. During the meeting, BSF officials informed the government that cattle smuggling has been declining year after year due to increased enforcement along the border. The force also highlighted the challenges it faced in caring for seized cattle in the absence of designated animal shelters.
According to BSF officials, many seized animals died because there was no proper facility to house them. Personnel were initially forced to cut fodder themselves to feed the animals, but later engaged local residents to help provide fodder until the cattle could be shifted. The government expects that the revised SOP, the creation of district-level task forces, and closer coordination between enforcement agencies will ensure better care of seized cattle while strengthening efforts to check cross-border smuggling.
