Bovine smuggling a new headache for police in north coastal Andhra

Vizianagaram: Bovine smuggling is posing a new challenge for the police in the Vizianagaram and Manyam Parvathipuram districts of Andhra Pradesh. The gangs from Odisha and Karnataka have been involved in the illegal transportation of the cattle to various destinations from north coastal Andhra. The shortage of beef in other states was one of the major reasons for the illegal transportation of cattle.

A senior police officer said that the gangs purchase the cattle at Pedamanapuram, Alamanda, Kandivalasa, Parvathipuram, and a few other locations, where the weekly shandies take place, and transport the cattle to various destinations illegally.

Traders from the Odisha region have been dominating the illegal cattle trade.

Illegal cattle smuggling in large containers and trucks from North Andhra was exposed a few years ago when 15 cattle and two persons were killed when a container truck met with an accident. Thirteen cattle were injured after a container truck in which the cattle were being transported, overturned near Sileru in the erstwhile Vizag district.

In another incident, more than 20 cattle were killed after a vehicle in which the cattle were transported illegally, overturned in a village under Koyyuru Mandal in the erstwhile Vizag Agency.

Though the police have registered over 250 cases, seized over 3,000 cattle, and arrested over 600 persons in the past two years, the illegal trade continues to thrive in the region.

"We are registering cases under sections of the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals Act. Also, one special team has been formed to collect intelligence about such activities and conduct raids," said Vizianagaram police chief Deepika M Patil.

Police are chalking out plans to set up special check posts to check in the illegal transportation of the cattle.