Deonar Abattoir

Basic Timeline of Observations

An excerpt from an account given by a PETA undercover investigator in April 1999 reads, "By the time of our tour at 10 a.m., there were already more than a dozen downed cattle. Four had broken feet or legs and could not stand. One bull kept trying to raise to his feet but could not put his right front leg down. He struggled, moving in circles as he tried to get that foot on the ground, until he collapsed under the heat of the sun. This same bull also had a broken horn, nearly half-gone, oozing blood. The slaughterhouse veterinarian providing the tour noted that the bull's foot was broken and that the broken horn was quite painful but made no effort to provide any sort of pain relief to the animal. Some of the downers lay alone, panting, on their sides. Others lay one on top of the other, their heads seeking solace on the bodies of their companions. Many of these cattle had eyes that were swollen and oozing from chilies or tobacco rubbed into them during transport. All the cattle looked at us with pleading eyes, hoping for some bit of water or shade or a kind touch and relief from their pain. Instead, the cattle were left at the unloading ramp until they died or until they found the strength to stand on their own later that day. Those cattle who were able to be sent to slaughter were indiscriminately beaten about their rump, neck and face. These beatings, coupled with the rough treatment of transportation, left many of the cattle with open wounds all over their bodies."

Another investigator posing as a foreign meat buyer in 1999 noted, "The cattle are slaughtered in one long line, in full view of one another, bound and thrown on the floor."

In July 2000, PETA paid an announced visit to the abattoir along with veterinarians and representatives of the UK's WSPA, HSA, the CLE chair, Mr Mohamed Hashim and other representatives of the Indian leather industry. Dr Vishnupurikar had been advised of the delegation's visit one month prior. The purpose of this visit was to allow WSPA and HSA experts to observe conditions and make recommendations that according to a pledge by Dr Vishnupurikar and Mumbai's mayor, Mr Hareshwar Patil, would immediately be implemented. Regarding this visit, PETA observed, "It was obvious to all that Dr Vishnupurikar and his staff took special care to clean up the facility as much as possible in an effort to impress the delegation and the CLE. There were no downed or dead cattle in the market, the cattle were slaughtered individually, the lorries were not as overloaded and the Bombay SPCA was present. While we know that this is not at all representative of the day-to-day activities of the abattoir, we can now safely assume that despite Dr Vishnupurikar's claims that he does not have any control over the lorry drivers and traders at the cattle market, he actually does."

On December 8, 2000, a PETA representative observed the following during an unannounced tour of Deonar, "Dr Hukkeri, a Deonar veterinarian, asked his colleague to run ahead of me to warn the others of PETA's arrival in Hindi, falsely assuming that I would not understand. Despite this, the traders were not successful at hiding the more than 30 downed and dead cattle. The condition of the animals was actually worse than I could have imagined. Several cattle had bloodied or missing eyes, nose bleeds, broken horns and deep wounds resulting from overcrowded and rough transport. All of this was acknowledged but ignored by the Deonar veterinarians. A fruitless effort was made by the traders to cover a lorry illegally overcrowded with cattle. Upon inspection, it was clear that this lorry had already been partially unloaded, yet 14 cattle remained inside, collapsed, roped, unable to move, some dying, all suffering. Children wandered about the unloading area joining the adults in indiscriminate beating, pulling, and kicking of the animals. I documented several instances in which the animals' tails were twisted and painfully broken. There was no sign of the Bombay SPCA, and even the gate attendants and guards present engaged in the beating. Dr Chavarkar, another Deonar veterinarian, had no concept of 'emergency slaughter' and injured animals were kept waiting for hours before being relieved or were simply left to die. When I arrived at the slaughter hall, there were 12 dead and dying cattle strewn across the floor. It was then painfully clear that the manner in which these animals are murdered is in full view of each other, even though special care was taken to slaughter these cattle separately in front of me. The goats were killed in view of each other."

Section Conclusion

From these accounts over a period of more than a year and a half, reports that follow years of serious complaints from Indian citizens, there can be no other conclusion but that absolutely no effort has been taken by the Maharashtra state government, the Mumbai municipality, religious authorities or the abattoir management to improve conditions for transport and slaughter in any way. This failure is despite serious consequences the abattoir has already faced, including a pledge from the CLE to advise its members not to purchase skins from Deonar, criticism in local and international media, being identified as one of the chief violators of law whose example was a focal point in decisions by international leather retailers to end their contracts for Indian leather goods (resulting in a loss of approximately US$28 million to the Indian leather industry and thousands of pleas to the Indian government by concerned citizens internationally).

Update

April, 2000: GAP announces a ban on using Indian and Chinese leather

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