Lucknow, April 17 -- It's shocking but true that the meat trade in the state capital has been operating in a regulatory vacuum for nearly eight years, raising serious concerns about food safety, animal welfare and environmental compliance.

Since 2017, neither the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) nor the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has issued licences or No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to meat vendors due to the lack of a functioning government-approved slaughterhouse in the city.

This situation has allegedly allowed over 2,000 meat vendors to run their businesses unchecked. According to industry estimates, more than 5,000 goats and approximately 25,000 chickens are slaughtered and sold daily in Lucknow without any sup...