Nagaland Ban on Sale of Dog Meat [UPSC Notes]

A government notification issued in 2020 that prohibited the trading and sale of dog meat in Nagaland was overturned by the Kohima bench of the Gauhati High Court in June 2023. Justice Marli Vankung’s single-judge bench made a number of points regarding what is deemed appropriate for human consumption and the scope to which the state can regulate this in its ruling. In this article, you can read more about this development for the IAS exam social issues segment.

What is the Government Notification Regarding Sale of Dog Meat?

Any species other than those mentioned in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011, cannot be slaughtered, according to a 2014 circular from the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).  

• Based on this, a decree was made in 2020 that outlawed the commercial import of dogs, dog markets, dog trade, and the sale of dog meat in marketplaces and sit-down restaurants.
• Both the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) may be used to prosecute anyone found to have violated the order.

Powers of the FSSAI

• In order to codify food-related legislation and create the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, was established.
• In order to guarantee the supply of healthy and safe food, it also attempted to regulate the production, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food products. 
• It resulted in the creation of the FSSAI.
• Additionally, laws defining the requirements and standards for food-related items may be made.

Definition of Food: The court emphasised that “any substance, whether processed, partially processed, or unprocessed, which is intended for human consumption” is the primary definition of “food” under the FSSA.

Court’s comments on this categorisation 

• According to the court’s ruling, the exclusion of dogs from the list of animals is “not surprising” because only a small portion of North Eastern states consume dog meat. 
• The inclusion of dogs in the list would be “inconceivable” since eating dog meat would be unimaginable given that the concept is foreign to other regions of the country.
• Dog meat “appears to be an accepted norm and food among the Nagas even in modern times,” the court noted. 
• According to the court, this term is “wide and liberal enough” to cover dog meat.

Court’s observations on the power of the FSSAI to issue prohibition orders on food items

• The FSSAI has been given the authority to create regulations that are compliant with the FSS Act in order to ensure the provision of safe and healthy food for human consumption, the court said. 
• The competence to issue prohibition orders is not mentioned in the Act’s description of the authority’s duties and functions. 
• The FSS Act calls for the state government to designate a Commissioner of Food Safety to carry out the Act’s other duties as well as the food safety standard.

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