Government Prepares to Implement Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act Nationwide

Kathmandu. The government is preparing to implement the 'Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act, 2055' across the country in phases to ensure the health of consumers and the availability of clean meat.

For this, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment has decided and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has coordinated, and a letter has been sent to all local levels across the country for necessary preparation and management. The ministry is moving forward by coordinating with local levels to streamline the process of implementing the act.

The act was decided to be implemented in a meeting chaired by the Minister of Agriculture, Forest and Environment, Gita Chaudhary, held at Singh Durbar on Ashad 26.

Implementation in Three Phases

As per the decision of the ministry, this act will be implemented in three different phases. Under this, in the first phase, this act will be fully implemented in all local levels of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur districts within 4 months from the date of publication of the notice in the Nepal Gazette. Similarly, in the second phase, the act will be implemented in all other municipalities across the country within 6 months from the date of publication of the notice in the Gazette, and in the third phase, a decision has been made to publish a notice in the Nepal Gazette to bring the act into implementation in all village municipalities of the country within 1 year.

The department has also decided to deploy a team of experts to facilitate the practical difficulties that may arise during the implementation of the act in the local levels of the Kathmandu Valley.

The Department of Animal Services will coordinate between the federal and local governments and will proceed with the process of capacity building of necessary manpower, conducting training, and appointing meat inspectors and meat supervisors. The department will update the current details of slaughterhouses, slaughter sites, and meat shops across the country and prepare samples of materials required for meat inspection.