The High Court has issued a rule asking why the illegal trade of horse meat in Bangladesh should not be banned.
It also directed the authorities to formulate guidelines and an action plan within 90 days to prevent such incidents.
The order was passed on Sunday by a High Court bench comprising Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice Fatema Anwar following a preliminary hearing on a writ petition.
Barrister Sakib Mahbub represented the petitioners during the hearing.
Earlier, a writ petition was filed seeking directives to prohibit the illegal horse meat trade in Bangladesh. The petition was filed in the public interest by the Bangladesh Animal Welfare Foundation, AK Khan Healthcare Trust, and actor and animal welfare activist Jaya Ahsan.
In the petition, the applicants sought the High Court’s intervention over allegations that sick animals were being fraudulently marketed as food for human consumption. They turned to the court citing a lack of effective legal action despite previous appeals to the relevant authorities.
The petition also sought directives for the disposal of earlier complaints submitted to government ministries, initiation of appropriate legal proceedings, and a thorough, time-bound investigation into the illegal horse meat trade uncovered in Gazipur.
