The Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment has decided to implement the long-standing Animal Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act, 2055 through a phased rollout. Under the decision, the law will take effect four months after publication of a Nepal Gazette notice in all local levels of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts, six months after publication in the remaining municipalities across the country, and one year after publication nationwide. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Agriculture, Forest and Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary on 2083/03/26.
To prepare for enforcement, the Department of Livestock Services has been instructed to update implementation guidelines and standards and send them to all local governments. Specialist teams will also be deployed to municipalities in Kathmandu Valley to assist with implementation. Local levels are being asked to prepare an updated inventory of animal slaughterhouses, slaughter sites and meat shops, with information to be collected through a designated Google Form or the Epicollect5 application as part of the national mapping process.
The government has also directed authorities to build the capacity of personnel at federal, provincial and local levels, including arranging training and facilitating the appointment of meat inspectors and meat supervisors. The Department of Livestock Services must coordinate with provincial and local governments to prepare the equipment and materials required for meat inspection and to keep slaughterhouse and meat-shop records up to date.
The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration has circulated the decision to all municipalities and rural municipalities, while the Agriculture Information and Training Centre has been asked to disseminate public-awareness materials on the new enforcement process. The phased approach is intended to establish more uniform meat-inspection practices and improve hygiene, safety and regulatory oversight in Nepal’s meat supply chain.
