views on establishing slaughter house in bhutan.

In the wake of recent discussion in the parliament about whether or not to establish slaughter house has sparked an immense debate among the various citizens. In a Buddhist country like ours, where the fundamental principle of living is empowered by love and compassion, the push to establish a slaughter house depicts the  greatest  irony of all time. Regardless of the various benefits that the slaughter house is viewed to provide , its has hurt the sentiments of many devoted Buddhists and central monastic body in particular. There are even widespread rumor that the country will sooner run into chaos and misfortune since the news has provoked our gods. However not every people is against the idea of setting up of the slaughter house. There are considerable number of people who thinks that an import on huge meat products from India should be banned, rather emphasize on a producing a home processing unit that can ensure clean, reliable and timely meat products.

Its apparent ,in respect to our Buddhist philosophy, the idea of establishing a slaughter house would mean  committing a huge sin. An innocent lives of countless animal would be sacrificed. Seemingly the massive  blood spilled from the kill and various residue from the site would eventually end up in streams, thus polluting the sanctity of the place. Even the location of the house would have significant impact on the people living nearby. for instance the sharp cries and wailing of animals can deprive the serenity of place not to mention the actual scenario inside the house. if we consider the present customary habit of Bhutanese regarding the consumption of meat ,we take only imported meat which are frozen and visually clean,  people hardly kill themselves and cannot stand the sight of butchering let alone consuming the meat products. Establishing of such killing venture brings in a very big question, that’s is it spiritually, morally and ethically justified?

 According to some research , Bhutan was ranked on top list when it come to import of meat products. This is a very big irony for Buddhist country .We cannot go on by saying we didn’t kill or we eat only imported meat, because question is not who is the butcher but who is eater. Logically we are compelling them to kill for us. These animals are killed somewhere in India , whereas we are devoid of  the details of  any slaughter house. How things are done abroad is not in our fingertips, hence the concern is , “are these meat up to the standard?” Or is it really certified meat that is  fit for consumption. Who knows if they sent buffalo and say its beef meat, similarly we got to ask ourselves that whether the meat we get in the shop is really beef or meat of some unknown animal such as dogs. Considering this issues, need to the establishment of slaughter house within our country appears paramount. If we have our own processing unit then the quality , sanitation and hygiene would be ensured. Furthermore it can ensure the availability and promptness in the delivery service  anytime.

Suppose if we consider the viewpoint of the monks and devoted Buddhist , the idea of slaughter house would be a mere act of crime. It would be a crime against the Buddha's doctrine of love and compassion. Already the central monastic body lead by his holiness Jekhenpo, condemned the governments decision and has shown strong resentment to  it. Because in the first place we are forbidden to kill , even if we hire some foreigner butcher to carry the work, the sin will be equally committed. We belief if we commit big sins  such as killing of innocent animals for fulfilling our selfish and greedy desires, time will take toll on us. By and by we will run into chaos and disharmony. The natural disasters and calamities would flare up claiming the lives of many people. For instance the massive earth quake that brought Nepal to ground was thought to be the curse of our angry gods for defying their will. In this light government of Nepal has banned one festival involving huge sacrificial ceremony, where thousands of cows were  being slaughtered. Well its in our hand whether to choose the same fate as those countries or avert our ways towards more happiness , prosperity and harmony  under our almighty's blessings.

 

To understand things more clearly, we have to go to back to the past. People back then were  not pure vegan ,and the meat products they consumed were not imported from anywhere abroad. If somebody needs  meat then they have to do the killing themselves. By and large , every household would have their own livestock , when meats were needed the animals were slaughtered. It was a custom to rear pigs and were slaughtered when the festive were up-close . Often in some parts of the country  , the courage of the kids were judged by their ability to slaughter pigs and goats , killing was a part of their livelihood. However gone are those days , today we cannot even stand the sight of  killings let alone carrying out the job. People have almost abandoned the act of killing , because the meats are readily available in the market , on top of that we are  attuned to the profound teachings of Buddha. Only if we have forsaken the habit of eating meat as well, when home killings were renounced then matter would have different turn. But this is virtually impossible logic. At present we import so much of meat products. An irony is, already  our country is in economic crisis and running into huge debt. Apparently import of meat is one amongst many  that is draining our money. We hardly have  piggery, there are only few fisheries , and poultry is way limited to eggs only. We are not producing anything of our won. If we take this into account , then there is a dire need of setting up slaughter house within our country . in the longer run it would benefit our countrys scarse economy. 

by and large , the establishment of  slaughter house  will remain one of the most debated topic not alone in the parliament but amongst the citizen as well. Every individual would have their own perspective. When the government made this decision, we believe that they have considered all the pros and cons while setting  up such ventures. Though it has drawn lots of criticism and strong opposition from the monastic body ,  we can also see the benefits of setting such houses. As a concerned citizen , I have shared the views on this topic but whether or not I support the decision by the government  is difficult to say. From some angle need to establish slaughter house appear as paramount step, but when we consider all the religious and spiritual backdrops the need of slaughter house is otherwise. as an individual I would neither support nor refute the the idea of setting up such slaughter houses. My suggestion would be, if government set up such houses, there should be proper regulation and stringent measures to limit the number of killings in year whereas if  the things remain unchanged like today the government should really reform the rules of import of meat products. Beef Ban and other strategies to minimize import should be made stricter.

Thanks ….