With the number of animals being brought to the Ghazipur slaughterhouse likely to increase in coming months, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi plans to micro chip the animals using tags.

A Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) will be used and it will help in avoiding a mix up between halal and jhatka goats, while ensuring that owners get back their own animals. The RFID, which will be tagged to the front leg of the goat or sheep, will act like a bar code and have details about the animals as well as their owners. The name of the owner, weight and age of the animal, and also whether it is meant for jhatka or halal slaughter, will be mentioned in the chip.

The MCD has been receiving complaints that jhatka and halal meats are often mixed together and this could hurt the religious sentiments of some communities.

“Butchers who have been bringing their animals for slaughter here have complained that their healthy animals are being exchanged with unhealthy ones. Though the gates for jhatka and halal slaughter houses are separate, we have also received complaints that jhatka and halal meats get mixed up,” an MCD engineer said at the slaughterhouse.

“If the details on the RFID chip indicate that a goat is to be slaughtered in the halal section and if by any chance it goes to the jhatka section, the gate will not allow the animal to pass and it will be carried to the section mentioned in the RFID chip,” the engineer said.

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