Meat over matter: Is the chicken an animal, wonders Gujarat High Court

Gujarat's chicken shops' futures are up in the air after two PILs were filed in the High Court demanding that animals should be slaughtered in slaughterhouses and not in local poultry shops.

The petitions have left judges with a unique conundrum: deciding if chickens should be considered animals or not.

Animal Welfare Foundation and Ahimsa Maha Sangh have filed the petitions in the state's court, seeking implementation of various laws and the Supreme Court's directions for the proper functioning of slaughterhouses.


Civic bodies in the state - in particular the Surat Municipal Corporation - have shut several shops based on the High Court's directive, claiming that animals shouldn't be killed in shops, as it violates rules and affects hygiene standards.

Local poultry shop owners, meanwhile, are hoping that the judgement goes in their favour and their shops are reopened at the earliest.